NASA’s Artemis II makes triumphant return to Earth after ‘bullseye’ landing in the Pacific Ocean – bringing history-making Moon mission to an end

NASA’s Artemis II crew successfully touched down after its historic lunar mission as the Orion spacecraft took a fiery dive into Earth’s atmosphere Friday night.

The spacecraft reached an incredible speed of 25,000 miles per hour and then crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, at 8:07 p.m. ET.

The four-person crew of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, have completed a ten-day mission that will take them around the moon and farther than any human has ever traveled in space before.

NASA officials said the Artemis II mission was a complete success, with the capsule landing exactly where the space agency planned.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman described the lunar mission as ‘excellent’ and announced America’s intention to begin work on a successful moon landing and construction of a lunar base by 2028.

Isaacman said: ‘We are back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon. This is just the beginning.’

After being removed from the Orion crew module and transferred to the Navy ship John P Murtha, the astronauts were seen in good spirits waving to the cameras and hugging Isaacman before undergoing a standard post-flight medical exam.

All four astronauts were able to walk under their own power. Previous space flights, including the ten-month saga of stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, required medical personnel to carry the astronauts because they were unable to walk well due to the time they spent in microgravity.

Astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch were seen waving and hugging NASA chief Jared Isaacman after being pulled from the water.

The journey home began just after 7:30 p.m. Friday night, with the Orion crew module pulling away from the spacecraft’s service module.

The separation exposed the vehicle’s heat shield, which protected the four-man crew as they were exposed to temperatures of up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit as they plunged into Earth’s atmosphere.

As the capsule angled into the atmosphere into a perfect orbit, NASA lost contact with the spacecraft for six minutes due to Orion colliding with the upper atmosphere, causing what scientists call ‘plasma accretion’.

After the radio blackout cleared as planned, Orion successfully deployed its parachutes and landed safely in the Pacific without incident.

A minor communications breakdown between the afloat astronauts and U.S. Navy rescue teams delayed the crew’s exit from the vehicle, but once flight surgeons managed to board the capsule, they were able to give all four astronauts a clean bill of health.

NASA deputy administrator Dr. Lori Glaze said her team was “thrilled” that the four astronauts returned home safely.

“We accomplished what we set out to do,” added Shawn Quinn, manager of NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program. ‘It’s nice to be NASA and it’s nice to be an American today.’

President Donald Trump added his congratulations on Friday night and invited the crew to the White House, writing on Truth Social: ‘Looking forward to seeing you all at the White House soon. We’ll do this again and go to Mars next!’

Image: US Navy rescue teams reached the Orion space capsule minutes after the capsule touched down in the Pacific at 8:07 pm ET.

Pictured: NASA Artemis II crew, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman and Pilot Victor Glover

The Artemis II mission began with a successful launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1.

A day later, the crew set off on a four-day journey to the Moon, where they would wander to the dark side and break Apollo 13’s decades-old record for the farthest distance it had ever traveled from Earth.

While the Apollo crew was 248,655 miles from Earth in 1970, Artemis II reached a maximum distance of 252,756 miles on the sixth day of their mission.

Astronauts also named two new craters discovered on the lunar surface while performing their close flights to the Moon; one of them was named after Carroll, the late wife of Artemis II mission commander Reid Wiseman.

NASA deputy administrator Amit Kshatriya said Artemis II was ‘the most important human space exploration mission in decades’.

‘I hope history is kind to us,’ he added.

Image: Image of the Artemis II spacecraft returning to Earth after its ten-day mission to orbit the Moon and break the human spaceflight distance record

NASA managers confirmed Friday night that the Artemis II flight crew was ‘happy and healthy.’ They added that the astronauts will head to the NASA space center in Houston on Saturday before spending time with their families.

The space agency’s focus will now be to review data from Artemis II before starting plans for Artemis III; This plan will also include a flyby of the Moon, but no landing.

Currently, NASA’s renewed plan for the moon includes sending an additional spaceflight, Artemis IV, as soon as 2028. This mission is expected to land on the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.

According to Isaacman, this mission will also initiate work to build a permanent US moon base that will facilitate future human space travel and a manned mission to Mars.