The four astronauts of NASA's 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 crew—Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen—became the first humans to travel to the moon and return since Apollo 17 in December 1972.
The Orion spacecraft touched down at 5:07 pm local time, having travelled 694,481 miles (1,117,659 km) over 9 days, 1 hour, and 32 minutes. NASA officially counts the mission as 10 days, with launch day designated as flight day one. All four astronauts were reported to be in good health.
Speaking at a press conference, NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya declared: "53 years ago, humanity left the moon. This time we return to stay." He urged the world to finish what Apollo started, noting that this is not a one-off but the beginning of sustained lunar exploration. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman echoed the sentiment, calling the crew "ambassadors from humanity to the stars" and emphasising that the agency plans to land astronauts on the moon by 2028 and establish a base.
Mission Specialist Christina Koch described her emotional reaction during the closest lunar flyby on Monday, when Orion passed 4,067 miles (6,545 km) above the surface. "The moon really is its own unique body in the universe," she said. "It reminds us how much we have in common. Everything we need, the Earth provides." Koch became the only woman to have travelled to the moon and back.
After splashdown, a recovery crew from the USS John P Murtha retrieved the astronauts, who were assessed by navy personnel and transferred to the ship by helicopter. The mission's success paves the way for Artemis III, a scheduled crewed moon landing in 2028.
