NASA astronaut Victor Glover, pilot of the Artemis II mission, shared candid insights about flying the Orion spacecraft during a post-mission interview with Ars Technica. The mission marked humanity's return to lunar orbit since Apollo, with Glover bringing his extensive naval aviation and spaceflight experience to the test.

Glover compared Orion's hands-on controls favorably to the touchscreen interface of SpaceX's Crew Dragon, which he previously piloted. He praised Orion's translational hand controller and noted the real spacecraft handled better than simulations, with more responsive systems and realistic thruster sounds. The pilot emphasized how the integrated system exceeded expectations, validating the work of engineers and flight controllers.

During reentry, Glover described the intense 13-minute descent through Earth's atmosphere as something he'd thought about for three years. While acknowledging the heat shield's critical nature with no backup system, he focused on executing procedures rather than worrying about potential failures. Glover emphasized that Artemis II's successful demonstration of manual flying capabilities provides crucial confidence for future missions involving complex rendezvous and docking operations with lunar landers.