The four astronauts of the Artemis II mission splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on Friday evening, concluding a historic 10-day journey around the moon. The Orion spacecraft touched down at 5.07pm local time (1.07am BST), having travelled 694,481 miles (1,117,659km) over nine days, one hour and 32 minutes. Nasa confirmed all crew members were in good health.
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch of Nasa, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency became the first humans to travel to the moon and return safely since Apollo 17 in December 1972. They join an exclusive group of just 24 others who have accomplished this feat. Nasa associate administrator Amit Kshatriya said: '53 years ago, humanity left the moon. This time we return to stay.'
During the mission, the crew captured stunning images of the lunar surface and Earth from afar. Christina Koch described her first impression of the moon from 4,067 miles above: 'I just had an overwhelming sense of being moved by looking at the moon... It became real.' She is the only woman to have travelled to the moon and back. Jeremy Hansen became the first Canadian to fly around the moon.
Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman hailed the mission as 'just the beginning', with plans for a crewed moon landing in 2028. 'We are going to get back into doing this with frequency,' he said. The recovery team from the USS John P Murtha retrieved the crew, who were transferred by helicopter to the navy ship. Nasa's Sean Quinn confirmed: 'We accomplished what we set out to do.'
