Artemis II crew splashes down in Pacific after historic moon voyage
Four astronauts returned to Earth Friday after a 10-day mission that took them farther from home than any humans before.
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NASA's Artemis II crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on Friday evening, concluding a 10-day voyage around the moon that marked humanity's return to lunar exploration after more than half a century.
The Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, touched down at approximately 5 p.m. Pacific Time. The four-member crew—commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian mission specialist Jeremy Hansen—traveled more than 695,000 miles during the mission.
The crew set a new record for human spaceflight distance, reaching 252,756 miles from Earth. This surpassed the previous record of 248,655 miles established during the Apollo 13 mission. As the crew passed the earlier mark, Hansen said, "We most importantly choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived."
Integrity experienced a fiery reentry as it descended through Earth's atmosphere at approximately 24,000 miles per hour. The spacecraft endured temperatures estimated at roughly half the sun's surface heat during atmospheric entry. A communication blackout occurred during this phase, as expected during reentry procedures.
The capsule's descent was controlled by large orange and white parachutes that slowed it to approximately 19 miles per hour for a gentle splashdown. Recovery crews in boats and helicopters immediately secured the scorched, gumdrop-shaped craft upon impact. The crew remained in the capsule for approximately one to two hours before extraction began.
Artemis II launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1. The mission involved orbiting the moon and returning to Earth, representing the first crewed lunar mission since the Apollo program ended decades ago.