Artemis II Astronauts Return After Historic Lunar Mission

NASA's Artemis II mission concluded successfully on April 10, 2026, as astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. This 10-day mission marked the first crewed lunar voyage since the Apollo program ended in 1972.

The Orion spacecraft, carrying the crew, re-entered Earth's atmosphere at approximately 24,000 miles per hour, enduring intense heat during descent. After splashdown, the astronauts were recovered by a combined NASA and U.S. military team and transported to the USS John P. Murtha for initial medical evaluations.

During the mission, the crew traveled a total of 694,481 miles, reaching a maximum distance of 248,655 miles from Earth, surpassing the previous record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. They conducted a lunar flyby, capturing over 7,000 images of the Moon's surface and a solar eclipse.

Upon their return to Houston on April 11, the astronauts were welcomed with applause and shared reflections on their journey. Commander Reid Wiseman described the experience as "the most special thing that will ever happen in my life."

The success of Artemis II paves the way for future missions, including Artemis III, which aims to test integrated operations with commercially built Moon landers in low Earth orbit.