Tom Hanks visits Artemis 2 moon astronauts and NASA Mission Control

Tom hanks with four astronauts, two on either side. all are standing and smiling. the astronauts wear blue flight suits. tom hanks is in black. behind is a cone-shaped spacecraft simulator with oval windows.

Iconic actor Tom Hanks, who once played a moon astronaut in film, met with four real-life astronauts on the verge of exploring lunar realms themselves.

"Apollo 13" actor Hanks touched down in Houston — where happily, he did not report a problem — to meet with the Artemis 2 crew. Those four astronauts posed with Hanks, in front of a mockup of the Orion spacecraft, between training for their round-the-moon mission no earlier than 2024, NASA officials reported on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday (Nov. 18).