The four astronauts of the Artemis II mission have returned to Earth safely after a historic 10-day journey around the Moon, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on Friday night.
The Orion spacecraft touched down at 5.07pm local time (1.07am BST), having travelled 694,481 miles (1,117,659km). The mission, which lasted 9 days, 1 hour and 32 minutes, is officially recorded as 10 days as launch day was designated flight day one.
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch of Nasa, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen are the first humans to travel to the Moon and return safely since Apollo 17 in December 1972. They join an exclusive club of only 24 others who have achieved this feat.
Shortly before splashdown, Wiseman described the view of Earth as 'a great blue hue – it's beautiful'. A recovery crew from the USS John P Murtha retrieved the astronauts, transferring them by helicopter to the navy ship.
Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman hailed the mission as 'just the beginning', adding that Nasa plans to return to the Moon with frequency, aiming for a crewed landing in 2028 and the construction of a lunar base. 'This is not a once in a lifetime,' he said. 'We are going to get back into doing this with frequency.'
The Artemis II mission marks a major step in Nasa's lunar exploration programme, demonstrating its ability to send humans safely to cislunar space and back. The agency will now focus on preparations for Artemis III, a scheduled Moon landing in 2028.
