NASA has successfully completed its Artemis II mission after the Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on Friday.
The mission marks the first crewed journey around the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. It signals a major step forward in human space exploration.
Four astronauts returned safely to Earth. The crew includes Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen.
They spent about 10 days in space. During the mission, they traveled more than 1.1 million kilometers. At one point, they reached a record distance from Earth for a human crew.
The Orion capsule re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at very high speed. It then deployed parachutes and landed in the Pacific with high accuracy.
U.S. Navy recovery teams quickly reached the capsule. Divers secured the spacecraft and assisted the crew. They then transferred the astronauts to the amphibious ship USS John P. Murtha for initial checks.
Artemis II tested key systems needed for future missions. These include life support, navigation, and deep-space communication. NASA confirmed that all major systems performed as expected.
The mission also marked several milestones. Koch became the first woman to travel to lunar distance. Glover became the first Black astronaut to do so. Hansen became the first non-American astronaut on a lunar mission.
NASA plans to build on this success. The next mission, Artemis III, aims to land humans on the Moon later this decade.
The Artemis program is part of a broader effort to return humans to the Moon and prepare for future missions to Mars.
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