Four astronauts have successfully concluded a groundbreaking journey to the Moon, touching down safely on Friday following an almost 10-day expedition that represents humanity’s first lunar voyage in more than five decades.
The Artemis II mission crew – consisting of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen – covered an impressive 694,481 miles throughout their test mission. At their farthest point, the team reached 252,756 miles from Earth, surpassing the distance achieved by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970.
Following their Pacific Ocean splashdown, NASA and U.S. military recovery personnel collected the astronauts and airlifted them via helicopter to the USS John P. Murtha for preliminary health assessments. The crew is scheduled to reach NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday, April 11.
The historic flight launched on April 1 at 6:35 p.m. from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39B in Florida. The massive Space Launch System rocket produced 8.8 million pounds of thrust to propel the Orion capsule into space. Initial system checks confirmed all equipment was operating properly, and the mission successfully deployed four CubeSats from international collaborators.
Mission controllers subsequently steered Orion toward the Moon using the spacecraft’s service module engine, guiding the crew to within 4,067 miles of the lunar surface. On April 6, during their closest approach, the astronauts captured over 7,000 photographs of the Moon, including documentation of a solar eclipse and diverse terrain features.
“The Artemis II crew is home. The entry, descent, and landing systems performed as designed and the final test was completed as intended. This moment belongs to the thousands of people across fourteen countries who built, tested, and trusted this vehicle. Their work protected four human lives traveling at 25,000 miles per hour and brought them safely back to Earth,” stated NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman welcomed the crew home, saying: “Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy, welcome home, and congratulations on a truly historic achievement. NASA is grateful to President Donald Trump and partners in Congress for providing the mandate and resources that made this mission and the future of Artemis possible.”
Throughout their mission, the astronauts performed comprehensive testing of Orion’s systems, including life support equipment and manual flight controls, while also completing scientific research such as the AVATAR study. Information gathered during this flight will inform planning for Artemis III and subsequent deep space missions.
