GoKawiilThe Artemis II crew – (from left) mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, pilot Victor Glover and commander Reid Wiseman – pause for a group photo inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home. NASA
The Artemis II crew is back home on Earth. They've accomplished incredible feats since leaving Earth on April 1. They beat Apollo 13's record for the farthest ever space travel; they took some gorgeous photography during their lunar flyby; and they proposed two new crater names, one of which honors commander Reid Wiseman's late wife, Carroll.
Artemis II is a historic mission for NASA. The team of American and Canadian astronauts departed Earth in a 332-foot-tall rocket to do something that humanity hasn't done in more than 50 years: travel to the moon.
The crew is Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Jeremy Hansen and Christina Koch. It's also a team of many lunar firsts: Glover is the first Black person to be sent to the moon, Hansen is the first Canadian and Koch is the first woman. In a press conference, the crew got personal about what the mission has meant to them, their families and the international community.
"Part of our ethos as a crew and our values from the very beginning were that this is a relay race," said Koch. "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 we do is with them in mind."
Artemis II helps set the stage for future missions to the moon, deep space and Mars. Here's everything you need to know about the mission back to the moon.
When did Artemis II return to Earth?
The Orion and its crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean west of San Diego, California, right on time on Friday, April 10, at 5:07 p.m. PT (8:07 p.m. ET, 1:07 a.m. BST, 10 a.m. AEST).
Watch Artemis II's splashdown on Earth
If you missed it, go to NASA's YouTube channel to watch archived coverage of Orion's splashdown.
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