The Artemis II crew — NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — splashed down in an Orion capsule Friday after a nine-day trip around the moon and back.
To return safely the crew and capsule endured near-record entry speeds and temperatures up to about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Orion spent roughly 13½ minutes plunging through the atmosphere, reaching a peak velocity of more than 30 times the speed of sound. The capsule’s heat shield protected the crew, and a sequence of parachutes slowed the spacecraft for a gentle splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego. Artemis II logged more than 700,237 statute miles, according to entry flight director Rick Henfling.
Four members of a U.S. Navy dive team pulled the crew from the capsule. Helicopters lifted them from a raft outside the spacecraft’s “porch,” and they are expected to arrive at the Johnson Space Center in Houston within 24 hours of splashdown.
“We did it. We sent four amazing people to the moon and safely returned them to Earth for the first time in more than 50 years,” said Lori Glaze, who leads the Artemis programs. “To the generation that now knows what we’re capable of: Welcome to our moonshot.”
The flight path carried the crew around the far side of the moon at roughly 4,000 miles above the surface. They made geological observations and took thousands of photos to help scientists learn more about the moon’s composition and origin. From that vantage, crew members also reflected on Earth’s fragility. “Trust me, you are special, in all of this emptiness,” Glover said. “This is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call The Universe. You have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together.”
Artemis II was a crucial test of the Orion spacecraft, which will ferry future Artemis astronauts, including those headed to the lunar surface. The crew exercised key systems — life support, maneuvering, heat shield performance and even the toilet. What NASA learns from this mission will inform and increase the safety of upcoming lunar flights.
“Part of our ethos as a crew, and our values from the very beginning were that this is a relay race,” Koch said. “In fact, we have batons that we bought to symbolize physically, that we plan to hand them to the next crew, and every single thing that we do is with them in mind.”
Work on the next missions is already underway. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman accelerated the Artemis program, directing the agency to launch an Artemis mission each year. Even before Artemis II landed, teams at Kennedy Space Center in Florida were preparing for the follow-up mission.
John Giles, NASA engineering operations manager who oversees the Crawler-Transporter that moves the mobile launch platform and the SLS rocket from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad, said his team will move the launch platform for Artemis II back into the Vehicle Assembly Building next week to begin building the rocket for Artemis III. “We really haven’t had too much time to relax and reflect on Artemis II, other than thinking what a perfect accomplishment it was,” Giles said. “Moving right into Artemis III. No rest for the weary. It’s moving on.”
A key piece of the Artemis III SLS — the core stage fuel tank — is due at Kennedy later this month, and parts of the solid rocket motors are already there. Artemis III aims to launch next year; it will remain in Earth orbit while testing spacecraft elements intended to land humans on the moon. The subsequent mission, Artemis IV, could return humans to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.