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Four NASA astronauts flew into space on Artemis II Wednesday afternoon, launching the beginning of a 10-day mission to orbit the moon. It brings back memories for Ashland-native and former NASA astronaut Clay Anderson. Anderson took two trips to space and spent 167 days on the International Space Station.”I was nine years old… in front of a black and white TV to watch the Apollo 8 astronauts do that: figure 8 around the backside of the moon. And so here we are in 2026, doing the same thing,” Anderson said.The Nebraskan was inspired in that moment to pursue a career as an astronaut. “It’s emotional. It brings back a lot of great memories, but it also brings some envy. You know, I would love to be back there. I would love to have been on top of that rocket making history,” Anderson said.He said the next days will be all about executing a mission that has long been in the planning. “They’re doing evaluations of systems. They’re doing all that technical stuff. That maybe isn’t too glamorous, but it’s hugely important,” Anderson said.Anderson said he’s excited for the future of space flight and proud of the innovation coming to NASA.”I’m not sure I thought I would see the day occur in my early engineer days at NASA. This is what we worked on. We worked on the shuttle going to the station, the station being a waypoint for going to the moon and going on to Mars,” Anderson said.He hopes that this moment will inspire even more Nebraskans to follow in his flight path.”I’m a small-town kid from Nebraska who lived and worked in space for 167 days and did six spacewalks. Who to thought right, and all the kids in Ashland and Waterloo, in Gering, Nebraska and Pawnee City, wherever it is, they have to believe they can do it, too,” Anderson said.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
Four NASA astronauts flew into space on Artemis II Wednesday afternoon, launching the beginning of a 10-day mission to orbit the moon.
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It brings back memories for Ashland-native and former NASA astronaut Clay Anderson. Anderson took two trips to space and spent 167 days on the International Space Station.
“I was nine years old… in front of a black and white TV to watch the Apollo 8 astronauts do that: figure 8 around the backside of the moon. And so here we are in 2026, doing the same thing,” Anderson said.
The Nebraskan was inspired in that moment to pursue a career as an astronaut.
“It’s emotional. It brings back a lot of great memories, but it also brings some envy. You know, I would love to be back there. I would love to have been on top of that rocket making history,” Anderson said.
He said the next days will be all about executing a mission that has long been in the planning.
“They’re doing evaluations of systems. They’re doing all that technical stuff. That maybe isn’t too glamorous, but it’s hugely important,” Anderson said.
Anderson said he’s excited for the future of space flight and proud of the innovation coming to NASA.
“I’m not sure I thought I would see the day occur in my early engineer days at NASA. This is what we worked on. We worked on the shuttle going to the station, the station being a waypoint for going to the moon and going on to Mars,” Anderson said.
He hopes that this moment will inspire even more Nebraskans to follow in his flight path.
“I’m a small-town kid from Nebraska who lived and worked in space for 167 days and did six spacewalks. Who to thought right, and all the kids in Ashland and Waterloo, in Gering, Nebraska and Pawnee City, wherever it is, they have to believe they can do it, too,” Anderson said.
Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
