Navy Divers Make History Welcoming Artemis 2 Crew Home

When NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after traveling nearly 700,000 miles around the moon, four Navy divers were waiting to welcome them home.

Lt. Cmdr. Jesse Wang, Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Laddy Aldridge, Chief Hospital Corpsman Vlad Link, and Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Steve Kapala made history on April 10 as the first people ever to enter NASA's Orion spacecraft at sea to assist a returning lunar crew. Operating from the USS John P. Murtha off the California coast, they opened the hatch, climbed inside the capsule the astronauts had named "Integrity," and provided the first medical assessments after 10 days in space.

This wasn't just another splashdown recovery. While Navy divers have supported astronaut returns since the Apollo missions, Artemis 2 introduced something new: a dedicated dive medical team trained to enter the spacecraft itself and provide immediate care.

Each corpsman was assigned to one of the four astronauts. Kapala cared for pilot Victor Glover, while his teammates looked after Commander Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. They checked the crew for effects of microgravity, radiation exposure, and the intense stresses of reentry before helping them safely exit the capsule.

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

Senior Chief Aldridge had the honor of being the first person to open the hatch and greet the crew. Once recovery teams secured the capsule and attached flotation collars, he climbed inside to begin the carefully choreographed sequence the team had rehearsed for years.

Why This Inspires

This moment represents thousands of hours of training paying off in minutes of critical work. Navy dive medical technicians train in both advanced diving operations and emergency medicine, learning to handle patients in the most extreme environments imaginable.

For Artemis 2, the team practiced extensively with Orion mockups in open water, coordinating every step alongside other military units and NASA personnel. Their expertise ensures that after astronauts survive the risks of space, they make it safely through those final crucial moments of recovery.

"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," Kapala said. "It is surreal to play a part in safely recovering the astronauts from the capsule to get them home safe to their families."

Wang, who led the four-person team, called it "the honor of a lifetime" to provide care to the Artemis 2 crew. As someone from the undersea medical community, he felt particularly humbled to bridge the gap between the depths of the ocean and the heights of space exploration.

After the divers completed their assessments and helped the astronauts onto an external platform, helicopters hoisted the crew to the Murtha for further evaluation. The entire operation showcased the precision and dedication required to bring space explorers safely home.

As NASA continues the Artemis program toward future lunar landings, these four Navy divers proved that the most historic moments in space exploration sometimes happen right here in the ocean.