NASA‘s Artemis II crew has successfully splashed down after their historic Moon mission, as the Orion spacecraft made a fiery plunge through Earth’s atmosphere Friday night.
The spacecraft reached blistering speeds of up to 25,000 miles per hour before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California.
The four-person crew, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, wrapped up a ten-day mission that carried them around the moon and farther than any human had ever traveled into space before.
The journey marked the first time in more than 50 years that humans have traveled this far into space and viewed the lunar surface with the naked eye since the Apollo era.
During the mission, the astronauts also passed behind the moon, flying over the mysterious far side, often referred to as the moon’s dark side because it permanently faces away from Earth. The historic flight also shattered a decades-old distance record set during Apollo 13 in 1970, when astronauts traveled 248,655 miles from Earth.
Artemis II surpassed that milestone by thousands of miles, setting a new distance record for human spaceflight.
Artemis II crew prepares to leave spacecraft as NASA ends mission operations
The four astronauts of Artemis II have successfully powered down their Orion space capsule and NASA’s mission control has officially handed operations over to the recovery team in the Pacific Ocean.
The crew will soon deploy their bridge, known as the ‘front porch,’ so they can exit the craft and head to the US Navy vessel John P Murtha waiting to take them back to NASA.
NASA flight surgeons have boarded the Orion space capsule to give the crew a medical check before they leave the module.
Navy rescue crews are also working to stabilize the craft so it does not capsize while the astronauts are leaving the vehicle.
Crews will inflate a giant ring around Orion which keeps the capsule steady in the ocean. The process takes less than 10 minutes to complete.
NASA chief declares Artemis II a ‘perfect’ mission that sets up 2028 moon base
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman spoke after the successful splashdown of Artemis II, calling the moon mission ‘perfect’ and declaring NASA’s intention to begin the work on a successful moon landing by 2028.
Isaacman said: ‘We are back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon. This is just the beginning.’
The NASA chief then added that the plan is now to begin work on a US moon base in the next two years. Artemis III is scheduled to launch on another trip around the moon next year.
Navy reaches Artemis II as communications problem snarls recovery
A communications glitch is keeping US Navy recovery teams from speaking with the returning astronauts.
NASA and the Navy have confirmed that the astronauts are in good health. The problem is a technical problem preventing teams from speaking with the Artemis crew as they await rescue.
The Orion crew module is continuing to power down before astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are pulled from the craft.
Breaking:Artemis II makes successful splashdown in Pacific Ocean
Artemis II has made a successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean following their ten-day mission around the moon.
The crew module safely passed through the atmosphere Friday night and landed off the coast of California at 8.07pm ET.
The Navy reported that the four astronauts are safe and in good health after touching down.
NASA continues to track Artemis II through atmosphere as splashdown nears
NASA released new images from the mission control center as Artemis II remains out of communications range while it travels through the atmosphere.
The crew module is deflecting heat of up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit as it returns to Earth.
Communications blackout begins as Artemis II slams into Earth’s atmosphere
The planned six-minute radio blackout period has begun as Artemis II made first contact with the upper atmosphere at 7.53pm ET.
The Orion crew module carrying NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, was approximately 400,000 feet above Earth’s surface.
The crew is expected to experience up to 3.9 Gs in the planned entry route. The communications blackout is being caused by a ‘plasma buildup’ as the heat of reentry rise around the capsule.
The astronauts transmitted one final image of Earth as heat built up around the craft before entering the planned radio blackout period.
Artemis II crew module blasts off from spacecraft as splashdown nears
Orion’s crew module has successfully separated from the service module, and the final maneuver to angle Artemis II for a safe reentry into Earth’s atmosphere has been completed.
NASA has confirmed that the return of Artemis II will now continue with no other changes in the scheduled splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at approximately 8.07pm ET.
NASA cautioned that the crew module will lose contact with the space agency for six minutes as it enters the atmosphere.
Navy launches its recovery teams as Artemis II nears Earth
Captain Erik Kenny, the commanding officer of the US Navy’s USS John P Murtha revealed that the ship has launched the four helicopters which will be monitoring the splashdown site as Artemis II nears Earth’s atmosphere.
The Murtha set out from the California coast earlier in the week for its mission to recovery the Orion spacecraft is less than one hour.
NASA surgeon warns astronauts could get sick while returning to Earth
NASA flight surgeon Dr Rick Scheuring revealed that crews at the splashdown site are preparing to help the four astronauts, who may battle severe nausea after reentering Earth’s much stronger atmosphere.
Scheuring said: ‘The human system is very dynamic. It has to readapt very quickly. One of the most common responses they get is some stomach awareness, to some nausea, to some vomiting.’
To help NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, the crew has taken anti-nausea medication and increasing their fluid intake in preparation for splashdown.
Artemis II crew don their space suits as final preparations for reentry begin
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen have changed into their protective space suits as the crew begin their final leak checks before entering the Earth’s atmosphere at approximately 7.33pm ET
All systems look ‘great’ for Artemis splashdown
NASA’s Artemis mission recovery director, Paul Sierpinski, said that the conditions near the splashdown site look great and everything remains on schedule for the Orion spacecraft to return in just over an hour.
What to watch for as Artemis II returns to Earth
NASA has released its official timeline of what will happen during Artemis II’s historic return to Earth:
7.33pm ET: Orion’s crew module will separate from the service module, exposing its heat shield for the spacecraft’s return through Earth’s atmosphere, where temperatures will reach up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
7.37pm ET: Orion will perform an 18-second crew module raise burn beginning to set the proper entry angle and align the heat shield for its collision with the atmosphere.
7.53pm ET: When Orion reaches 400,000 feet above Earth’s surface, the crew is expected to experience up to 3.9 Gs in the planned entry route. This moment marks the spacecraft’s first contact with the upper atmosphere and the starts a six-minute communications blackout.
8.03pm ET: Around 22,000 feet over the surface, parachutes will deploy, slowing and stabilizing the capsule as Orion nears splashdown.
8.04pm ET: At around 6,000 feet, the initial parachutes will release, and the three main parachutes will deploy, reducing Orion’s speed to less than 136 mph.
8.07pm ET: Slowing to 20 mph, Orion will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, completing the Artemis II crew’s return to Earth and a 694,481-mile journey.