Artemis II safely splashes down
4 hours ago
- #NASA
- #Space Exploration
- #Artemis II
- Artemis II crew returned to Earth with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego after a 9-day moon mission.
- The Orion capsule, carrying astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, set a record for the farthest human distance from Earth at 252,756 miles.
- Reentry involved a communications blackout due to plasma, peak temperatures of 5,000°F on the heat shield, and parachute deployment for a gentle splashdown at 8:07 p.m. ET.
- NASA and military recovery teams approached Orion post-splashdown for crew extraction, medical checks on USS John P. Murtha, and capsule retrieval.
- President Trump watched the splashdown and praised the astronauts as modern-day pioneers, highlighting plans for future moon and Mars missions.
- The mission included emotional moments, such as naming a moon crater after Commander Wiseman's late wife and capturing photos of an eclipse and Earth from space.