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The Artemis II crew has safely returned to Earth after completing a historic mission around the Moon, marking the first human journey to lunar vicinity in over 50 years.
NASA’s Orion capsule, named Integrity, re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California on April 10, 2026, after nearly 10 days in space.
The four-member crew — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen — successfully completed the mission, travelling a total distance of over 694,000 miles, including a close flyby about 4,000 miles from the Moon’s surface.
The return marked one of the most critical phases of the mission, as the spacecraft endured extreme heat and pressure during re-entry, reaching speeds 32 times the speed of sound and temperatures of about 5,000°F. Communication was temporarily lost for several minutes due to a planned radio blackout before being restored.
The capsule deployed parachutes and landed safely in the ocean, where U.S. Navy recovery teams retrieved the astronauts and transported them to a nearby vessel for medical checks.
Launched on April 1 from Cape Canaveral aboard NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, the mission included two Earth orbits before heading toward the Moon. It became the first crewed lunar flyby since the Apollo era.
The mission also marked several milestones, including the first Black astronaut, first woman, and first non-American to take part in a lunar mission.
Artemis II serves as a major step in NASA’s broader plan to return humans to the Moon and eventually send astronauts to Mars. The mission tested critical systems needed for future lunar landings, expected later this decade.
The success of the mission sets the stage for upcoming Artemis missions, including plans for a crewed Moon landing and further deep space exploration.
