Fifty years after Apollo, humanity has once again journeyed beyond Earth's orbit. NASA's Artemis II astronauts splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego at 8:07 p.m. Eastern on Friday, completing a groundbreaking 10-day mission around the Moon.
The Orion spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, descended under parachutes before recovery teams moved in. "Splashdown!" NASA announced, confirming the crew was "back on Earth." Wiseman added moments later: "What a journey. We are stable one. Four green crewmembers."
Artemis II was the first crewed test flight of NASA's Orion capsule and Space Launch System rocket, sending astronauts farther than any mission since Apollo. The crew traveled 252,756 miles from Earth, surpassing Apollo 13's record and observed the Moon's far side and ancient craters.
The flight also marked historic firsts: Glover became the first Black astronaut to reach lunar vicinity, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first Canadian. Minor technical issues, including cabin odours and a faulty toilet system, did not affect the mission's success.
Re-entry tested Orion's limits, with the capsule hurtling at 25,000 mph and enduring plasma temperatures near 5,000°F before parachutes deployed. Recovery teams transported the astronauts to the USS John P. Murtha for medical checks.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman praised the mission as "an incredible moment," while U.S. leaders hailed it as proof of what is possible. Artemis II sets the stage for Artemis III, which aims to land humans on the Moon later this decade.