The Orion capsule carrying the Artemis II crew – NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen – splashed down in the Pacific Ocean just after 8 pm EDT as planned. The capsule struck the ocean off San Diego at approximately 20 mph, with four members safely returning to Earth, thereby completing their historic journey of 117,659km to the Moon and back.
Before the signal was restored, NASA’s mission controllers had no contact with the crew for a good six minutes. Although a routine, the communications blackout was inevitably nerve-wracking, as a combined NASA and US military recovery team stood by to welcome the Artemis II crew home, and thereafter fly them to the USS Murtha.
As part of the first tasks at hand, recovery teams will retrieve the historic quartet and assist them onto an inflatable raft. Helicopters will then be used to deliver them to the ship. Once aboard, Wiseman, Glover, Kock and Hansen will undergo post-mission medical evaluations before returning to shore. An aircraft will subsequently take them to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Breaking the record previously set by Apollo 13 in 1970, the Artemis II team travelled farther from Earth than anyone in human history. The Artemis II team also became the first set of humans to be sent toward the Moon since 1972.
Artemis 2 astronauts return safely
“What a journey. We are stable. Four green crewmembers,” reported Commander Reid Wiseman after a risky 10-day journey around the moon and back, indicating all four of them were in good shape.
The monumental mission took off after a successful liftoff NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on April 1 Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Aboard the USS John P Murtha Navy recovery vessel, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, “there is a lot to celebrate right now on on a mission well accomplished for Artemis II.”
“This is not just an accomplishment for NASA,” he added. “This is an accomplishment for humanity, again, a historic mission to the moon and back.” He also hailed the crew as “absolutely professional astronauts, wonderful communicators and almost poets,” and “ambassadors from humanity to the stars.”
Hinting at the journey ahead with preparations anticipated for Artemis III, he continued, “I can’t imagine a better crew than the Artemis II crew that just completed a perfect mission right now. We are back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon and bringing them back safely. “
“This is just the beginning. We are going to get back into doing this with frequency, sending missions to the moon until we land on it in 2028 and start building our base.”
Trump’s message to Artemis 2 crew
A “proud” Donald Trump congratulated the Artemis II crew for their “spectacular” trip and “perfect” landing. “As President of the United States, I could not be more proud!” he exclaimed. “I look forward to seeing you all at the White House soon. We’ll be doing it again and then, next step, Mars!”