Artemis II Ascent Flight Director Judd Frieling and NASA Chief Flight Director Emily Nelson are both University of Texas alumni.
AUSTIN, Texas — One week after Artemis II completed its journey around the moon and splashed down safely, two NASA leaders with connections to the Austin area are reflecting on their roles in the landmark mission.
The flight marked the first crewed lunar trip in more than 50 years. For Judd Frieling, a University of Texas graduate who served as Ascent Flight Director, the experience still feels surreal. Frieling oversaw the launch and ascent phase, helping guide the crew through some of the mission’s most critical first moments.
“I never would have, in my wildest dreams, imagined that I would be part of a team that would bring us back to the moon,” Frieling said. “I was just kind of going around in a little bit of a haze, like, did this really happen? Like, did we really do this?”
Emily Nelson, NASA’s Chief Flight Director who’s also a UT alum, shared that the magnitude of the mission has yet to fully settle in. Nelson coordinated communication between the flight control room and the many support teams involved.
“It’s not entirely clear that I fully understand that we launched, much less that we splashdown,” Nelson said. “And so it’s going to be a minute before I relive all of those and really fully feel all those feels, you know.”
Preparation for Artemis II spanned roughly three years, but both Nelson and Frieling told KVUE that their paths to NASA began much earlier. Nelson credits Wooldridge Elementary in Austin ISD with helping her develop early problem‑solving skills. Frieling points to teachers at Pflugerville High School who encouraged him to pursue ambitious goals. The two later graduated from the University of Texas, and later began their careers at NASA.
“A lot of the purpose for the mission, a lot of the hard work over the last several years to get the mission ready was to bring the moon to this generation, the Artemis generation,” Nelson said. “And so it’s just– it’s really heartening that, that paid off.”
Each Artemis mission, she added, serves as a building block toward NASA’s long‑term objective of establishing a permanent presence on the moon.
Both Nelson and Frieling hope the mission encourages more young people to pursue their dreams.
“We need the next generation to be getting themselves geared up and ready to go,” Nelson said. “Stay tuned. There’s more to come.”