NASA's Artemis II Crew Splashes Down After First Lunar Voyage in 54 Years

Four astronauts returned safely to Earth on Friday after completing humanity’s first crewed trip to the Moon since the Apollo era. The Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, punched through the atmosphere at over Mach 30, enduring exterior temperatures around 5,000°F and a six-minute communications blackout caused by plasma buildup during reentry.

Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down in the Pacific southwest of San Diego at 8:07 PM EDT. The capsule shed nearly 25,000 mph in just 14 minutes, peaking at roughly 3.9 Gs before parachutes slowed it for a controlled ocean landing. The USS John P. Murtha dispatched helicopters and dive teams to recover the crew, all of whom were reported in good health.

The mission marks the first time humans have traveled to lunar distance since Apollo 17 in 1972, and sets the stage for NASA’s Artemis program to eventually return boots to the lunar surface.