The four astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II lunar mission returned to Earth Friday evening after nearly 10 days in space, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego. Video from NASA showed the Orion capsule hitting the atmosphere at speeds exceeding 24,000 miles per hour, then descending under three billowed red-and-white parachutes.
The capsule entered the atmosphere near Hawaii from about 400,000 feet, producing a fireball as superheated gases surrounded the spacecraft and temperatures reached as high as 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. For about six nerve-wracking minutes during reentry, the capsule experienced the expected communications blackout before radio contact resumed and commander Reid Wiseman reported, “Integrity, we hear you loud and clear.”
Recovery ships from the U.S. Navy, including the USS John P. Murtha, stood by to retrieve the crew — the first time the Defense Department and NASA have teamed up on a recovery since Apollo 17 in 1972. Sailors will extract the astronauts from the capsule, perform routine medical checks, and then fly them to Houston to reunite with family and debrief. Mission managers noted plumbing issues aboard Orion during the flight; the crew was expected to enjoy more normal facilities on landing.
Artemis II was a crewed test flight designed to validate the spacecraft and systems needed to return humans to the moon. The mission carried out extensive observations and photography; the crew flew closer to the moon than anyone in more than half a century and saw portions of the lunar surface not previously seen by human eyes. NASA engineers and scientists will debrief the astronauts and analyze the thousands of images and hours of recordings.
The mission also highlighted international cooperation and diversity: the European Space Agency provided the service module with solar arrays and propulsion, and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen was among the crew — his country’s flag appeared alongside the American flag on the spacecraft. The flight included Christina Koch, described in mission coverage as the first woman to go to the moon, and Victor Glover, noted as the first person of color to make the trip.
Looking ahead, NASA plans another test next year to exercise lunar lander technologies in Earth orbit, and agency leaders have suggested a crewed moon landing could come as soon as 2028, though timelines remain optimistic and subject to delays. For now, Artemis II completed its primary objective: demonstrating that the spacecraft and team can carry astronauts around the moon and bring them home safely.