Artemis II crew splashes down safely after record-breaking lunar mission
NASA’s Artemis II mission ended Friday with a flawless splashdown off the San Diego coast, as the Orion capsule returned four astronauts from the farthest distance ever travelled by humans. The crew flew around the moon, witnessed a space‑only solar eclipse, and set a new record of 406,771 kilometres from Earth.
The Artemis II mission concluded successfully on Friday with the Orion crew module splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, at 8:07 ET (00:07 GMT). After a high‑speed re‑entry through Earth’s atmosphere, enduring temperatures exceeding 3,000°F (1,649°C), the spacecraft slowed from about 33 times the speed of sound to a gentle 19 mph (30 kph) before landing. All four astronauts – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen – were recovered safely.
Record‑Breaking Journey
The crew travelled farther from Earth than any humans in history, reaching a maximum distance of 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometres) – surpassing the record set by the Apollo 13 mission in 1970. During the lunar flyby, they observed the far side of the moon and witnessed a solar eclipse visible only from space. The spacecraft made its closest approach to the moon at about 4,067 miles above the surface before beginning its return trajectory.
Next Stop: Mars
President Donald Trump praised the mission on Truth Social, writing: “Congratulations to the great and very talented crew of Artemis II. The entire trip was spectacular, the landing was perfect and, as President of the United States, I could not be more proud!” He added that he looks forward to welcoming the crew to the White House soon and declared that the next step will be Mars. The successful mission paves the way for Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface.
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