Transcript Observations: Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen
Attribution Clarification
The line "I'm just not able to tell what I'm looking at yet in the earth glow" is spoken by Jeremy Hansen in the Artemis II broadcast.
Victor Glover provides several of the surrounding observations that establish the visual conditions and significance of the moment.
Verified Transcript Sequence
7:52:04 — Victor Glover
"We just went sci fi. This has. It just looks unreal."
~7:52 — Victor Glover
"You can actually see a majority of the moon… the strangest looking thing that you can see so much on the surface."
7:59:31 — Victor Glover
"The glow around the moon is beginning to become a little bit more even."
7:59:57 — Victor Glover
"I still see earthshine and the earth is very bright out there."
8:03:58 — Jeremy Hansen
"The entire moon is lit up… it's glowing behind the entire moon."
8:05:15 — Jeremy Hansen
"I'm just not able to tell what I'm looking at yet in the earth glow."
8:14:37 — Victor Glover
"Humans probably have not evolved to see what we're seeing. It is truly hard to describe."
Source: Artemis II live broadcast transcript, verified against official recording.
Victor Glover's Observations
"We just went sci fi. This has. It just looks unreal."
— Victor Glover
Pilot, Orion Integrity
Artemis II Mission · April 6, 2026
Spoken in real time during the Artemis II live broadcast, describing a rare human observation during the lunar flyby eclipse phase.
Verified Broadcast Context
The following timestamps reference NASA's official Artemis II broadcast during the lunar flyby on April 6, 2026.
~07:41 — Earthshine mentioned during crew observation
~08:03 — "Earth glow" usage by Victor Glover
Timestamps approximate; refer to official broadcast recording for exact timing.
Interpretation in Real Time
The phrase "Earth's glow" was formed during active observation from deep space. This represents human descriptive language emerging in real time as astronauts witnessed the Moon illuminated by earth-reflected sunlight from an unprecedented vantage point.
Source Verification
Official Broadcast Recording
The observation is documented in the official Artemis II broadcast recording, available through NASA public archives. The video provides timestamped verification of crew communications during the lunar flyby.
Source: Official Artemis II broadcast recording (timestamped)
Watch on YouTube →Physical Conditions During the Observation
This observation occurred during a lunar eclipse phase of the flyby, when the spacecraft was positioned behind the Moon relative to the Sun.
Key conditions included:
These factors combined to create a visual environment where Earth-reflected light illuminated the Moon in a way rarely experienced by human observers.
About Victor Glover
Mission Role
Position: Pilot of Orion Integrity
Responsibility: Spacecraft operations during critical mission phases
Background: Veteran astronaut with extensive spaceflight experience
Observation Context
Glover's description emerged naturally during real-time observation of the lunar surface during the farside flyby.
As pilot, he was positioned to observe and communicate visual phenomena during critical mission windows.
His training and experience allowed him to accurately describe and contextualize what the crew was witnessing.
Why This Description Matters
Real-Time Human Interpretation
Unlike post-mission reports or analyzed data, this was immediate human processing of a rare visual experience, captured during live communication.
Rare Human Observation
The crew's verbal descriptions during the eclipse phase represent rare human observation of Earth illuminating the Moon, captured during live communication from deep space.
Documented in Official Record
Timestamped in NASA's official mission transcript, making this a verifiable primary source for the observation and terminology.
Bridges Science and Experience
Scientifically known as Earthshine, "earth glow" as spoken during the broadcast captures the experiential reality—how the phenomenon appeared from the deep-space vantage point of the Artemis II crew.
Note on Terminology
The mission transcript contains references to both "earth shine" and "earth glow" during the observation period. This reflects real-time crew processing of the visual phenomenon.
"Earth shine" connects to established scientific terminology (Earthshine). "Earth glow" emerged as the crew's experiential description of Earth functioning as an active light source.
Both terms are accurate. Both appear in the official record. This site uses "Earth's glow" (Earthglow) to capture the human observation perspective while acknowledging the scientific foundation in Earthshine.