The spacecraft from NASA’s Artemis II successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Friday, completing its planned mission around the Moon.
The crew, consisting of Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, and Reid Wiseman, are expected to be recovered by rescue teams before being transported by air to a US military vessel for medical evaluations.
The mission marks the first crewed flight around the Moon since 1972, following the success of the uncrewed Artemis I launched in 2022.
The Orion spacecraft carrying the astronauts successfully re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, completing a key test of its heat shield designed to protect the crew from extreme temperatures during descent.
Artemis II represents a major step forward in space exploration, paving the way for future human missions to the Moon and supporting long-term plans for a sustained presence on its surface, as well as eventual crewed missions to Mars.
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