NASA Artemis II splashes down in Pacific Ocean in ‘perfect’ landing for Moon mission

After 10 days, the 4 astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft person returned to Earth, their ngo astir the Moon a success.

Integrity, the sanction of the crew’s spacecraft arsenic portion of NASA’s Artemis II mission, splashed down successful the Pacific Ocean disconnected the seashore of San Diego, California, astatine 5:07 p.m. Pacific Time, according to NASA. The 4 unit members aboard — 3 Americans and 1 Canadian — were each successful “green” (or harmless and healthy) information aft the Orion craft’s “perfect” landing.

The unit was composed of Commander Reid Wiseman, aviator Victor Glover, and ngo specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. From liftoff to splashdown, the quartet was successful abstraction for conscionable implicit 9 days (with NASA rounding up and calling it a 10-day mission).

Artemis II was NASA’s archetypal ngo to the Moon’s orbit successful much than 50 years. The unit traveled farther from Earth than humans ever person earlier — reaching an estimated 252,760 miles from our planet. During their journey, the unit orbited the Moon, taking photos from their flyby of never-before-seen parts of the surface, and adjacent witnessing a total star eclipse. They identified caller craters, naming one aft Wiseman’s woman Carroll, who died of crab successful 2020.

“These were the ambassadors to the stars that we sent retired there,” Jared Isaacman, NASA’s administrator, said aft the landing. “I can’t ideate a amended crew. It was a cleanable mission.”