{
  "author": "Jennifer M. Dooren",
  "categories": [
    "Humans in Space",
    "Artemis 2",
    "Earth's Moon",
    "Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate",
    "Missions",
    "Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle"
  ],
  "content_encoded": "<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit \"><a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1541\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?w=1541\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg 3009w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=226,300 226w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=768,1021 768w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=770,1024 770w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=1155,1536 1155w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=1541,2048 1541w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=301,400 301w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=451,600 451w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=677,900 677w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=903,1200 903w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=1505,2000 1505w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1541px) 100vw, 1541px\" /></a></figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">NASA’s Orion spacecraft with Artemis II crewmembers NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist aboard was seen as it splashed down at 5:07 p.m. PDT in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, Friday, April 10, 2026. NASA’s Artemis II mission took Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. </div><div class=\"hds-credits\">Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky</div></figcaption></div></div></div>\n\n\n<p>The first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century are back on Earth after a record-setting mission aboard NASA’s Artemis II test flight.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down at 5:07 p.m. PDT Friday off the coast of San Diego, completing a nearly 10-day journey that took them 252,756 miles from home at their farthest distance from Earth.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>“Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy, welcome home, and congratulations on a truly historic achievement. NASA is grateful to President Donald Trump and partners in Congress for providing the mandate and resources that made this mission and the future of Artemis possible,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Artemis II demonstrated extraordinary skill, courage, and dedication as the crew pushed Orion, SLS (Space Launch System), and human exploration farther than ever before. As the first astronauts to fly this rocket and spacecraft, the crew accepted significant risk in service of the knowledge gained and the future we are determined to build. NASA also acknowledges the contributions of the entire NASA workforce, along with our international partners, whose expertise and commitment were essential to this mission’s success. With Artemis II complete, focus now turns confidently toward assembling Artemis III and preparing to return to the lunar surface, build the base, and never give up the Moon again.”</p>\n\n\n\n<p>After splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, the astronauts were met by a combined NASA and U.S. military team that assisted them out of the spacecraft in open water and transported them via helicopter to the USS John P. Murtha for initial medical checkouts. The crew members are expected to return to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday, April 11.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>During their mission, Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen flew 694,481 miles in total. Their lunar flyby took them farther than any humans have ever traveled before, surpassing the previous distance record set by Apollo 13 astronauts in 1970.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first Artemis crew <a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/liftoff-nasa-launches-astronauts-on-historic-artemis-moon-mission/\">launched</a> on NASA’s SLS rocket at 6:35 p.m. April 1, from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. With 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, the American-built rocket propelled the crew inside the Orion spacecraft to space, delivering it to orbit with pinpoint accuracy after a smooth countdown conducted by the agency’s Artemis launch control team.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the first day in space, the astronauts and teams on the ground checked out the spacecraft — named Integrity by the crew — to confirm all systems were healthy ahead of the transit to the Moon. NASA also deployed four CubeSats from international partners to Earth orbit.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the second day of the test flight, with all systems Go, Orion’s service module fired its main engine, placing the astronauts on a trajectory that brought them 4,067 miles above the lunar surface at their closest approach.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>“The Artemis II crew is home. The entry, descent, and landing systems performed as designed and the final test was completed as intended. This moment belongs to the thousands of people across fourteen countries who built, tested, and trusted this vehicle. Their work protected four human lives traveling at 25,000 miles per hour and brought them safely back to Earth,” said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya. “Artemis II proved the vehicle, the teams, the architecture, and the international partnership that will return humanity to the lunar surface. Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy carried the hopes of this world farther than humans have traveled in more than half a century. Fifty‑three years ago, humanity left the Moon. This time, we returned to stay. The future is ours to win.”</p>\n\n\n\n<p>With astronauts aboard for the first time, engineers put Orion through a full in‑flight evaluation. The crew tested the spacecraft’s life support systems, confirming Orion can sustain humans in deep space. During several piloting demonstrations, crew members took manual control of the spacecraft, flying Orion to validate its handling and collect data that will guide future rendezvous and docking operations with human-rated landers during Artemis III and beyond.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The crew completed a series of tests to inform how NASA will fly future missions to the Moon, including evaluations of how the spacecraft operates during crew exercise, emergency equipment and procedures, the Orion crew survival system spacesuits, and other critical spacecraft systems.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen also supported scientific investigations to help NASA prepare astronauts to live and work on the Moon as the agency builds a Moon Base and looks toward Mars. These experiments — including the <a href=\"https://science.nasa.gov/biological-physical/investigations/avatar/\" rel=\"noopener\">AVATAR</a> investigation, which studies how human tissue responds to microgravity and the deep space radiation environment, and other human research performance studies — are gathering essential health data for long-duration missions.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>During their April 6 lunar flyby, the astronauts captured more than 7,000 images of the lunar surface and a <a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/image-detail/amf-art002e009301/\">solar eclipse</a>, during which the Moon blocked the Sun from Orion’s vantage point. The imagery includes striking views of <a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/image-detail/art002e009288/\">earthset</a> and earthrise, impact craters, ancient lava flows, our Milky Way galaxy, and surface fractures and color variations across the lunar terrain.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>They documented the topography along the terminator — the boundary between lunar day and night — where low-angle sunlight casts long shadows across the surface, creating illumination conditions similar to those in the South Pole region where astronauts are scheduled to land in 2028. The crew also proposed potential names for <a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-artemis-ii-crew-eclipses-record-for-farthest-human-spaceflight/\">two lunar craters</a> and reported meteoroid impact flashes on the night side of the Moon.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Artemis II science will pave the way for future missions to the Moon’s surface by helping advance mission operations and training astronauts to use well-informed judgment to identify areas of high interest for science and exploration.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the crew safely on Earth, NASA and its partners now will turn attention to preparing for next year’s Artemis III mission, when a new Orion crew will test integrated operations with commercially built Moon landers in low Earth orbit.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of a Golden Age of innovation and exploration, NASA will send Artemis astronauts on increasingly challenging missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, establish an enduring human&nbsp;presence on the lunar surface, and lay the groundwork for sending the first astronauts – American astronauts – &nbsp;to Mars.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn more about the Artemis program, visit:</p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/artemis\">https://www.nasa.gov/artemis</a></p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">-end-  </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bethany Stevens / Rachel Kraft<br>Headquarters, Washington<br>202-358-1600<br><a href=\"mailto:Bethany.c.stevens@nasa.gov\">bethany.c.stevens@nasa.gov</a> / <a href=\"mailto:rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov</a> </p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"nasa-gb-align-full width-full maxw-full padding-x-3 padding-y-0 article_a hds-module hds-module-full alignfull wp-block-nasa-blocks-credits-and-details\">\n<section class=\"padding-x-0 padding-top-5 padding-bottom-2 desktop:padding-top-7 desktop:padding-bottom-9\">\n\t<div class=\"grid-row grid-container maxw-widescreen padding-0\">\n\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-2 padding-right-4 margin-bottom-5 desktop:margin-bottom-0\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-top-3 border-top-1px border-color-carbon-black\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"heading-14\">Share</h2>\n\t\t\t\t</div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"social-icons social-icons-round\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"social-icon social-icon-x\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https://x.com/intent/tweet?via=NASA&#038;text=NASA%20Welcomes%20Record-Setting%20Artemis%20II%20Moonfarers%20Back%20to%20Earth%C2%A0&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Fnews-release%2Fnasa-welcomes-record-setting-artemis-ii-moonfarers-back-to-earth%2F\" aria-label=\"Share on X.\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"1200\" height=\"1227\" viewBox=\"0 0 1200 1227\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\"><path d=\"M714.163 519.284L1160.89 0H1055.03L667.137 450.887L357.328 0H0L468.492 681.821L0 1226.37H105.866L515.491 750.218L842.672 1226.37H1200L714.137 519.284H714.163ZM569.165 687.828L521.697 619.934L144.011 79.6944H306.615L611.412 515.685L658.88 583.579L1055.08 1150.3H892.476L569.165 687.854V687.828Z\" fill=\"white\"/></svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t</a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t</li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"social-icon social-icon-facebook\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Fnews-release%2Fnasa-welcomes-record-setting-artemis-ii-moonfarers-back-to-earth%2F\" aria-label=\"Share on Facebook.\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M9 8h-3v4h3v12h5v-12h3.642l.358-4h-4v-1.667c0-.955.192-1.333 1.115-1.333h2.885v-5h-3.808c-3.596 0-5.192 1.583-5.192 4.615v3.385z\"/></svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t</a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t</li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"social-icon social-icon-linkedin\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Fnews-release%2Fnasa-welcomes-record-setting-artemis-ii-moonfarers-back-to-earth%2F\" aria-label=\"Share on LinkedIn.\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M4.98 3.5c0 1.381-1.11 2.5-2.48 2.5s-2.48-1.119-2.48-2.5c0-1.38 1.11-2.5 2.48-2.5s2.48 1.12 2.48 2.5zm.02 4.5h-5v16h5v-16zm7.982 0h-4.968v16h4.969v-8.399c0-4.67 6.029-5.052 6.029 0v8.399h4.988v-10.131c0-7.88-8.922-7.593-11.018-3.714v-2.155z\"/></svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t</a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t</li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"social-icon social-icon-rss\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"/feed/\" aria-label=\"Subscribe to RSS feed.\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 800 800\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M493 652H392c0-134-111-244-244-244V307c189 0 345 156 345 345zm71 0c0-228-188-416-416-416V132c285 0 520 235 520 520z\"/><circle cx=\"219\" cy=\"581\" r=\"71\"/></svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t</a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t</li>\n\t\t\t\t\t</ul>\n\t\t\t\t</div>\n\t\t\t</div>\n\t\t</div>\n\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-5 padding-right-4 margin-bottom-5 desktop:margin-bottom-0\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-top-3 border-top-1px border-color-carbon-black\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"heading-14\">Details</h2>\n\t\t\t\t</div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-row margin-bottom-3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"subheading\">Last Updated</div>\n\t\t\t\t\t</div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-8\">Apr 10, 2026</div>\n\t\t\t\t</div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"grid-row margin-bottom-3\"><div class=\"grid-col-4\"><div class=\"subheading\">Editor</div></div><div class=\"grid-col-8\">Jennifer M. Dooren</div></div><div class=\"grid-row\"><div class=\"grid-col-4\"><div class=\"subheading\">Location</div></div><div class=\"grid-col-8\"><a class=\"hds-location-tag-name\" href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-headquarters/\"><span class=\"hds-meta-heading\">NASA Headquarters</span></a></div></div>\t\t\t</div>\n\t\t</div>\n\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-5 padding-right-4 margin-bottom-5 desktop:margin-bottom-0\"><div class=\"padding-top-3 border-top-1px border-color-carbon-black \"><div class=\"margin-bottom-2\"><h2 class=\"heading-14\">Related Terms</h2></div><ul class=\"article-tags\"><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/\">Humans in Space</a></li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/\">Artemis 2</a></li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https://science.nasa.gov/moon/\" rel=\"noopener\">Earth&#039;s Moon</a></li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/exploration-systems-development-mission-directorate/\">Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate</a></li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-missions/\">Missions</a></li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/orion-spacecraft/\">Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle</a></li></ul></div></div>\n\t</div>\n</section>\n\t</div>\n\n\n<p></p>\n",
  "description": "The first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century are back on Earth after a record-setting mission aboard NASA’s Artemis II test flight. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down at 5:07 p.m. PDT Friday off the coast [&#8230;]",
  "downloadable_assets": [
    "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/cbiomes-2026-1.jpeg"
  ],
  "feed_url": "https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/feed/",
  "guid": "https://www.nasa.gov/?post_type=press-release&p=983177",
  "link": "https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-welcomes-record-setting-artemis-ii-moonfarers-back-to-earth/",
  "media_content_url": "https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg",
  "media_thumbnail_url": null,
  "page_video_url": null,
  "pubDate": "Sat, 11 Apr 2026 02:31:50 +0000",
  "source_name": "artemis",
  "title": "NASA Welcomes Record-Setting Artemis II Moonfarers Back to Earth ",
  "xml": "<item xmlns:dc=\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\" xmlns:ns1=\"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/\">\n\t\t<title>NASA Welcomes Record-Setting Artemis II Moonfarers Back to Earth </title>\n\t\t<link>https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-welcomes-record-setting-artemis-ii-moonfarers-back-to-earth/</link>\n\t\t\n\t\t<dc:creator>Jennifer M. Dooren</dc:creator>\n\t\t<pubDate>Sat, 11 Apr 2026 02:31:50 +0000</pubDate>\n\t\t\t\t<category>Humans in Space</category>\n\t\t<category>Artemis 2</category>\n\t\t<category>Earth's Moon</category>\n\t\t<category>Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate</category>\n\t\t<category>Missions</category>\n\t\t<category>Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle</category>\n\t\t<guid isPermaLink=\"false\">https://www.nasa.gov/?post_type=press-release&amp;p=983177</guid>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<description>The first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century are back on Earth after a record-setting mission aboard NASA’s Artemis II test flight. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down at 5:07 p.m. PDT Friday off the coast [&amp;#8230;]</description>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ns1:encoded>&lt;div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"&gt;&lt;div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"&gt;&lt;div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"&gt;&lt;figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit \"&gt;&lt;a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg\"&gt;&lt;img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1541\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?w=1541\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg 3009w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=226,300 226w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=768,1021 768w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=770,1024 770w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=1155,1536 1155w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=1541,2048 1541w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=301,400 301w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=451,600 451w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=677,900 677w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=903,1200 903w, https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55199878669-257ddff58b-o-1.jpg?resize=1505,2000 1505w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1541px) 100vw, 1541px\" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"&gt;&lt;div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\"&gt;NASA’s Orion spacecraft with Artemis II crewmembers NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist aboard was seen as it splashed down at 5:07 p.m. PDT in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, Friday, April 10, 2026. NASA’s Artemis II mission took Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=\"hds-credits\"&gt;Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;The first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century are back on Earth after a record-setting mission aboard NASA’s Artemis II test flight.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down at 5:07 p.m. PDT Friday off the coast of San Diego, completing a nearly 10-day journey that took them 252,756 miles from home at their farthest distance from Earth.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;“Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy, welcome home, and congratulations on a truly historic achievement. NASA is grateful to President Donald Trump and partners in Congress for providing the mandate and resources that made this mission and the future of Artemis possible,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Artemis II demonstrated extraordinary skill, courage, and dedication as the crew pushed Orion, SLS (Space Launch System), and human exploration farther than ever before. As the first astronauts to fly this rocket and spacecraft, the crew accepted significant risk in service of the knowledge gained and the future we are determined to build. NASA also acknowledges the contributions of the entire NASA workforce, along with our international partners, whose expertise and commitment were essential to this mission’s success. With Artemis II complete, focus now turns confidently toward assembling Artemis III and preparing to return to the lunar surface, build the base, and never give up the Moon again.”&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;After splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, the astronauts were met by a combined NASA and U.S. military team that assisted them out of the spacecraft in open water and transported them via helicopter to the USS John P. Murtha for initial medical checkouts. The crew members are expected to return to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday, April 11.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;During their mission, Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen flew 694,481 miles in total. Their lunar flyby took them farther than any humans have ever traveled before, surpassing the previous distance record set by Apollo 13 astronauts in 1970.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;The first Artemis crew &lt;a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/liftoff-nasa-launches-astronauts-on-historic-artemis-moon-mission/\"&gt;launched&lt;/a&gt; on NASA’s SLS rocket at 6:35 p.m. April 1, from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. With 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, the American-built rocket propelled the crew inside the Orion spacecraft to space, delivering it to orbit with pinpoint accuracy after a smooth countdown conducted by the agency’s Artemis launch control team.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;During the first day in space, the astronauts and teams on the ground checked out the spacecraft — named Integrity by the crew — to confirm all systems were healthy ahead of the transit to the Moon. NASA also deployed four CubeSats from international partners to Earth orbit.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;On the second day of the test flight, with all systems Go, Orion’s service module fired its main engine, placing the astronauts on a trajectory that brought them 4,067 miles above the lunar surface at their closest approach.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;“The Artemis II crew is home. The entry, descent, and landing systems performed as designed and the final test was completed as intended. This moment belongs to the thousands of people across fourteen countries who built, tested, and trusted this vehicle. Their work protected four human lives traveling at 25,000 miles per hour and brought them safely back to Earth,” said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya. “Artemis II proved the vehicle, the teams, the architecture, and the international partnership that will return humanity to the lunar surface. Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy carried the hopes of this world farther than humans have traveled in more than half a century. Fifty‑three years ago, humanity left the Moon. This time, we returned to stay. The future is ours to win.”&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;With astronauts aboard for the first time, engineers put Orion through a full in‑flight evaluation. The crew tested the spacecraft’s life support systems, confirming Orion can sustain humans in deep space. During several piloting demonstrations, crew members took manual control of the spacecraft, flying Orion to validate its handling and collect data that will guide future rendezvous and docking operations with human-rated landers during Artemis III and beyond.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;The crew completed a series of tests to inform how NASA will fly future missions to the Moon, including evaluations of how the spacecraft operates during crew exercise, emergency equipment and procedures, the Orion crew survival system spacesuits, and other critical spacecraft systems.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen also supported scientific investigations to help NASA prepare astronauts to live and work on the Moon as the agency builds a Moon Base and looks toward Mars. These experiments — including the &lt;a href=\"https://science.nasa.gov/biological-physical/investigations/avatar/\" rel=\"noopener\"&gt;AVATAR&lt;/a&gt; investigation, which studies how human tissue responds to microgravity and the deep space radiation environment, and other human research performance studies — are gathering essential health data for long-duration missions.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;During their April 6 lunar flyby, the astronauts captured more than 7,000 images of the lunar surface and a &lt;a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/image-detail/amf-art002e009301/\"&gt;solar eclipse&lt;/a&gt;, during which the Moon blocked the Sun from Orion’s vantage point. The imagery includes striking views of &lt;a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/image-detail/art002e009288/\"&gt;earthset&lt;/a&gt; and earthrise, impact craters, ancient lava flows, our Milky Way galaxy, and surface fractures and color variations across the lunar terrain.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;They documented the topography along the terminator — the boundary between lunar day and night — where low-angle sunlight casts long shadows across the surface, creating illumination conditions similar to those in the South Pole region where astronauts are scheduled to land in 2028. The crew also proposed potential names for &lt;a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-artemis-ii-crew-eclipses-record-for-farthest-human-spaceflight/\"&gt;two lunar craters&lt;/a&gt; and reported meteoroid impact flashes on the night side of the Moon.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;Artemis II science will pave the way for future missions to the Moon’s surface by helping advance mission operations and training astronauts to use well-informed judgment to identify areas of high interest for science and exploration.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;With the crew safely on Earth, NASA and its partners now will turn attention to preparing for next year’s Artemis III mission, when a new Orion crew will test integrated operations with commercially built Moon landers in low Earth orbit.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;As part of a Golden Age of innovation and exploration, NASA will send Artemis astronauts on increasingly challenging missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, establish an enduring human&amp;nbsp;presence on the lunar surface, and lay the groundwork for sending the first astronauts – American astronauts – &amp;nbsp;to Mars.&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;To learn more about the Artemis program, visit:&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p class=\"has-text-align-center\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/artemis\"&gt;https://www.nasa.gov/artemis&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p class=\"has-text-align-center\"&gt;-end-  &lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;Bethany Stevens / Rachel Kraft&lt;br&gt;Headquarters, Washington&lt;br&gt;202-358-1600&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=\"mailto:Bethany.c.stevens@nasa.gov\"&gt;bethany.c.stevens@nasa.gov&lt;/a&gt; / &lt;a href=\"mailto:rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"&gt;rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;\n\n\n&lt;div id=\"\" class=\"nasa-gb-align-full width-full maxw-full padding-x-3 padding-y-0 article_a hds-module hds-module-full alignfull wp-block-nasa-blocks-credits-and-details\"&gt;\n&lt;section class=\"padding-x-0 padding-top-5 padding-bottom-2 desktop:padding-top-7 desktop:padding-bottom-9\"&gt;\n\t&lt;div class=\"grid-row grid-container maxw-widescreen padding-0\"&gt;\n\t\t&lt;div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-2 padding-right-4 margin-bottom-5 desktop:margin-bottom-0\"&gt;\n\t\t\t&lt;div class=\"padding-top-3 border-top-1px border-color-carbon-black\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t&lt;div class=\"margin-bottom-2\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t&lt;h2 class=\"heading-14\"&gt;Share&lt;/h2&gt;\n\t\t\t\t&lt;/div&gt;\n\t\t\t\t&lt;div class=\"padding-bottom-2\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t&lt;ul class=\"social-icons social-icons-round\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;li class=\"social-icon social-icon-x\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;a href=\"https://x.com/intent/tweet?via=NASA&amp;#038;text=NASA%20Welcomes%20Record-Setting%20Artemis%20II%20Moonfarers%20Back%20to%20Earth%C2%A0&amp;#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Fnews-release%2Fnasa-welcomes-record-setting-artemis-ii-moonfarers-back-to-earth%2F\" aria-label=\"Share on X.\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;svg width=\"1200\" height=\"1227\" viewBox=\"0 0 1200 1227\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\"&gt;&lt;path d=\"M714.163 519.284L1160.89 0H1055.03L667.137 450.887L357.328 0H0L468.492 681.821L0 1226.37H105.866L515.491 750.218L842.672 1226.37H1200L714.137 519.284H714.163ZM569.165 687.828L521.697 619.934L144.011 79.6944H306.615L611.412 515.685L658.88 583.579L1055.08 1150.3H892.476L569.165 687.854V687.828Z\" fill=\"white\"/&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;/a&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;/li&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;li class=\"social-icon social-icon-facebook\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Fnews-release%2Fnasa-welcomes-record-setting-artemis-ii-moonfarers-back-to-earth%2F\" aria-label=\"Share on Facebook.\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;svg xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\"&gt;&lt;path d=\"M9 8h-3v4h3v12h5v-12h3.642l.358-4h-4v-1.667c0-.955.192-1.333 1.115-1.333h2.885v-5h-3.808c-3.596 0-5.192 1.583-5.192 4.615v3.385z\"/&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;/a&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;/li&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;li class=\"social-icon social-icon-linkedin\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Fnews-release%2Fnasa-welcomes-record-setting-artemis-ii-moonfarers-back-to-earth%2F\" aria-label=\"Share on LinkedIn.\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;svg xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\"&gt;&lt;path d=\"M4.98 3.5c0 1.381-1.11 2.5-2.48 2.5s-2.48-1.119-2.48-2.5c0-1.38 1.11-2.5 2.48-2.5s2.48 1.12 2.48 2.5zm.02 4.5h-5v16h5v-16zm7.982 0h-4.968v16h4.969v-8.399c0-4.67 6.029-5.052 6.029 0v8.399h4.988v-10.131c0-7.88-8.922-7.593-11.018-3.714v-2.155z\"/&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;/a&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;/li&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;li class=\"social-icon social-icon-rss\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;a href=\"/feed/\" aria-label=\"Subscribe to RSS feed.\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;svg xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 800 800\" aria-hidden=\"true\"&gt;&lt;path d=\"M493 652H392c0-134-111-244-244-244V307c189 0 345 156 345 345zm71 0c0-228-188-416-416-416V132c285 0 520 235 520 520z\"/&gt;&lt;circle cx=\"219\" cy=\"581\" r=\"71\"/&gt;&lt;/svg&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;/a&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;/li&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t&lt;/ul&gt;\n\t\t\t\t&lt;/div&gt;\n\t\t\t&lt;/div&gt;\n\t\t&lt;/div&gt;\n\t\t&lt;div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-5 padding-right-4 margin-bottom-5 desktop:margin-bottom-0\"&gt;\n\t\t\t&lt;div class=\"padding-top-3 border-top-1px border-color-carbon-black\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t&lt;div class=\"margin-bottom-2\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t&lt;h2 class=\"heading-14\"&gt;Details&lt;/h2&gt;\n\t\t\t\t&lt;/div&gt;\n\t\t\t\t&lt;div class=\"grid-row margin-bottom-3\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t&lt;div class=\"grid-col-4\"&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&lt;div class=\"subheading\"&gt;Last Updated&lt;/div&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t&lt;/div&gt;\n\t\t\t\t\t&lt;div class=\"grid-col-8\"&gt;Apr 10, 2026&lt;/div&gt;\n\t\t\t\t&lt;/div&gt;\n\t\t\t&lt;div class=\"grid-row margin-bottom-3\"&gt;&lt;div class=\"grid-col-4\"&gt;&lt;div class=\"subheading\"&gt;Editor&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=\"grid-col-8\"&gt;Jennifer M. Dooren&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=\"grid-row\"&gt;&lt;div class=\"grid-col-4\"&gt;&lt;div class=\"subheading\"&gt;Location&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=\"grid-col-8\"&gt;&lt;a class=\"hds-location-tag-name\" href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-headquarters/\"&gt;&lt;span class=\"hds-meta-heading\"&gt;NASA Headquarters&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;\t\t\t&lt;/div&gt;\n\t\t&lt;/div&gt;\n\t&lt;div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-5 padding-right-4 margin-bottom-5 desktop:margin-bottom-0\"&gt;&lt;div class=\"padding-top-3 border-top-1px border-color-carbon-black \"&gt;&lt;div class=\"margin-bottom-2\"&gt;&lt;h2 class=\"heading-14\"&gt;Related Terms&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;ul class=\"article-tags\"&gt;&lt;li class=\"article-tag\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/\"&gt;Humans in Space&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li class=\"article-tag\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/\"&gt;Artemis 2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li class=\"article-tag\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"https://science.nasa.gov/moon/\" rel=\"noopener\"&gt;Earth&amp;#039;s Moon&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li class=\"article-tag\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/exploration-systems-development-mission-directorate/\"&gt;Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li class=\"article-tag\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-missions/\"&gt;Missions&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li class=\"article-tag\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/orion-spacecraft/\"&gt;Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;\n\t&lt;/div&gt;\n&lt;/section&gt;\n\t&lt;/div&gt;\n\n\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;\n</ns1:encoded>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t</item>\n\t"
}