Artemis II Crew Returns to Earth After Historic Lunar Flyby

Humanity Returns to the Moon

NASA's Artemis II mission has concluded with a successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, marking the end of a ten-day voyage that sent four astronauts farther from Earth than any humans in history. The crew touched down at 8:07 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 10, completing a journey spanning nearly 700,000 miles.

A Record-Breaking Crew

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen launched aboard the Orion spacecraft on April 1 from Kennedy Space Center. Glover became the first person of colour to travel around the Moon, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first non-American. On April 6, the crew reached their closest approach to the lunar surface at roughly 4,000 miles, breaking the Apollo 13 record by travelling more than 406,000 kilometres from Earth.

Emotional Moments in Deep Space

During the flyby, the astronauts photographed never-before-seen features of the far side of the Moon and spent approximately 40 minutes completely out of contact with Earth. In an emotional gesture, the crew named two previously unnamed lunar craters: one called Integrity after their spacecraft, and the other Carroll, honouring Commander Wiseman's late wife who died in 2020.

Eyes on Mars

After splashdown, Wiseman posted a message on X thanking Elon Musk, describing how the crew glimpsed the red hues of Mars as the Sun slipped behind the Moon. He declared there is zero doubt humans will reach Mars soon. The tribute comes as competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin intensifies for NASA's next lunar lander contracts, with the first crewed Moon landing now targeting 2028 under the restructured Artemis programme.