“The last thing to come into view was this blue glow, and we could see craters and the surface of the Moon. But the Sun is on the other side, so what was lighting the Moon? It was ‘Earthshine’, the light of the Earth reflecting off the near side of the Moon. I don’t think our brains are evolved to understand what we were seeing. I called Houston and said, ‘I think we’ve just gone into sci-fi.’”

Paddy O’Connell speaks to Artemis II astronaut Victor Glover, who was part of the first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years.

Glover and his crewmates travelled further from Earth than any humans before them, witnessing sights no one had ever seen before.

He explains why humanity may be closer to reaching Mars than many think, and reflects on how travelling into space changed his perspective on life.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sundar Pichai and Julia Gillard.

You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Paddy O’Connell

(Image: Victor Glover. Credit: Josh Valcarcel/NASA)