Navy Divers First to Welcome Artemis 2 Crew Home from Moon

When the hatch of the Orion capsule opened in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Laddy Aldridge climbed inside to become the first person to welcome four astronauts home from their journey around the moon.

Aldridge and his three teammates—Lt. Cmdr. Jesse Wang, Chief Hospital Corpsman Vlad Link, and Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Steve Kapala—made history as the first dive medical team ever to enter a lunar spacecraft at sea. Operating from the USS John P. Murtha, they provided the critical bridge between the Artemis 2 crew's 10-day mission and their safe return to Earth.

The four Navy divers had trained for years to perform a job that lasted only minutes but carried enormous weight. After the crew splashed down off the California coast, recovery teams secured the capsule named "Integrity" with flotation collars and stabilized it in open water. Once safe, the dive team went to work.

Each corpsman had been assigned to one specific astronaut—NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canada's Jeremy Hansen. Inside the cramped capsule, they conducted immediate health assessments, checking how each crew member had weathered microgravity, radiation exposure, and the intense stresses of reentry. Then they carefully helped guide each astronaut out onto a platform before helicopters lifted them to the ship.

"Such an incredible feeling to welcome you aboard Integrity after a nearly 700,000-mile journey," Wiseman, the mission commander, posted on social media. "Forever thankful for your service to our crew and the nation."

The dive medical team represents a new evolution in NASA's Artemis program. While Navy divers have supported astronaut recoveries since Apollo, Artemis 2 introduced the first dedicated medical team trained to actually enter the Orion capsule. They rehearsed extensively with mockups in open water, practicing every step alongside other military units and NASA personnel.

Why This Inspires

For Kapala, the moment felt surreal. "I grew up reading sci-fi novels and watching space movies, never thinking that I would play a part in a recovery mission like this," he said. His role in bringing Glover safely home reminded him that space exploration depends on countless people working together, most of whom never leave Earth.

Wang, who led the four-man team, reflected on the weight of responsibility. "As a proud member of the undersea medical community, I am particularly humbled to play a part in this mission," he said. "It is the honor of a lifetime."

As NASA continues pushing toward future lunar landings, these four divers proved that the most groundbreaking moments in space exploration sometimes happen in the ocean, where skilled hands and steady nerves bring heroes home.