Artemis II Crew Returns Safely After Historic Moon Mission

After 10 days in space and a white-knuckle ride through Earth's atmosphere at 25,000 miles per hour, four astronauts made it home safely Friday evening.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 8:07 p.m. ET, completing the most ambitious lunar mission since the Apollo era. Their Orion capsule punched through the atmosphere like a fireball, enduring temperatures over 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit during the 13-minute descent.

The crew broke distance records set by Apollo 13 astronauts back in 1970, traveling farther from Earth than any humans before them. They became the first people to witness the far side of the moon from a completely new angle and saw a breathtaking eclipse from space.

The return home was no easy feat. Mission planners had to adjust their reentry strategy after discovering heat shield issues on the previous uncrewed test flight. Instead of skipping through the atmosphere gradually, the team chose a steeper, faster plunge to limit exposure to extreme temperatures.

"We have to get back," Glover said from orbit Wednesday. "There's so much data, so many more pictures, so many more stories, and I haven't even begun to process what we've been through."

The USS John P. Murtha waited near the splashdown zone as Orion floated down on parachutes, slowing from screaming speed to just 20 miles per hour. Recovery teams installed an inflatable raft below the capsule's hatch, examined the crew with a flight surgeon, and helped them out safely.

Why This Inspires

This mission proves we can do hard things again. After 50 years away from the moon, humanity has rekindled its ability to venture beyond low Earth orbit.

The Artemis II crew tested manual spacecraft controls, life support systems, and the human ability to thrive in deep space for extended periods. Every system worked. Every milestone hit. Every astronaut coming home with stories that will inspire the next generation to look up.

Mission managers are celebrating what flight director Jeff Radigan called "13 minutes of things that had to go right," and they all did. The data and experience gained will pave the way for future missions that will actually land astronauts on the lunar surface.

Welcome home, explorers.