Artemis II Crew Splashes Down After Historic Lunar Orbit From Florida's KSC

Four astronauts splashed down Friday in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, completing humanity's first crewed journey around the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. The nearly 10-day mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and set a new record for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth.

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, NASA astronaut Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen reached a record 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth while behind the lunar far side Monday, surpassing any distance previously logged by a human crew. Their Orion capsule hit Earth's atmosphere at 23,840 mph before deploying parachutes and settling into the Pacific, where the USS John P. Murtha and a squadron of military aircraft stood ready for recovery. It was the first joint NASA-Defense Department lunar crew retrieval since Apollo 17.

The mission launched April 1 from Kennedy Space Center, roughly 90 miles north of Vero Beach. The roar of the Space Launch System rocket was audible along the entire Treasure Coast. For the aerospace workforce at the Vero Beach Regional Airport and the corridor of Space Coast contractors who supply components to NASA's Artemis program, Friday's splashdown represents a program milestone with direct economic stakes.

The return was not without tension. An Orion heat shield on the program's uncrewed 2022 test flight sustained more damage than engineers anticipated during the 5,000-degree Fahrenheit reentry. Rather than replace the shield — which would have delayed the mission further — NASA modified the capsule's atmospheric descent angle to reduce heat exposure. The fix held Friday. Reentry is among the mission's highest remaining risks, NASA's Lakiesha Hawkins had said. "We're down to the wire now," she said Thursday.

Glover, speaking from the capsule Wednesday, captured the crew's blend of relief and awe. "There are so many more pictures, so many more stories," he said. "Riding a fireball through the atmosphere is profound as well."

NASA plans to fly Artemis III next year, with astronauts practicing lunar-lander docking in Earth orbit. Artemis IV, targeted for 2028, aims to land two astronauts near the moon's south pole.

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