Artemis II astronauts return after historic moon mission, setting stage for future lunar landing
Their Orion capsule splashed down off the coast of San Diego Friday evening, wrapping up a 10-day mission that covered roughly 700,000 miles.
(NBC)- The four astronauts of Artemis II have safely returned to Earth following a groundbreaking journey to the moon and back.
Their Orion capsule splashed down off the coast of San Diego Friday evening, wrapping up a 10-day mission that covered roughly 700,000 miles — one of the longest crewed spaceflights in history.
The mission marked several major milestones, including the first time humans viewed the full far side of the moon and a rare 53-minute solar eclipse witnessed from deep space.
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are still processing the historic achievement.
“I have not processed what we just did, and I’m afraid to start even trying,” Glover said after returning home.
The crew reunited with their families after the mission, which set a new record for distance traveled by humans — more than a quarter-million miles from Earth.
“Before you launch, it feels like it’s the greatest dream on Earth, and when you’re out there, you just want to get back to your families and your friends,” Wiseman said.
Astronauts also described a renewed appreciation for Earth after seeing it from deep space.
“What struck me wasn’t necessarily just Earth. It was all the blackness around it. Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe,” Koch said.
After spending days in close quarters, the crew says the experience created a lasting bond.
“What you saw was a group of people who loved contributing, having meaningful contribution, and extracting joy out of that,” Hansen said.
For NASA, the successful mission sets the stage for the next phase of lunar exploration. Another Orion flight is planned for next year, where astronauts will practice docking with a commercial lunar lander.
That mission is part of a broader goal to return humans to the moon as early as 2028.
