Artemis II Splashes Down Near San Diego Waters: "Astronauts in Good Condition"

The crewed lunar probe Artemis II has completed its close flyby mission around the Moon and returned to Earth.

AFP Yonhap News

According to a live broadcast by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on April 10 (local time), the crew capsule 'Orion' from Artemis II splashed down in waters near San Diego, United States, at 8:07 p.m. Eastern Time.

This comes 10 days after its launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1.

Artemis II passed a distance of 252,756 miles (about 406,771 kilometers) from Earth, breaking the previous longest spaceflight record set by Apollo 13 in April 1970.

During this mission, Artemis II flew around the far side of the Moon, observing various aspects of the lunar surface. The mission also secured critical data for future deep space exploration.

With this return, humanity has rewritten history by visiting the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in December 1972.

Orion re-entered the atmosphere and rapidly descended at Mach 33. During the approximately 13-minute reentry into Earth's atmosphere, plasma accumulated on Orion's exterior, raising the temperature to nearly 2,760°C. As a result, communications were lost for about six minutes.

At an altitude of 5,400 feet, Orion's drogue parachutes were released and three main parachutes deployed, reducing the descent speed to below 200 feet per second. Following this, Orion splashed down at the initially planned location.

NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said, "It was a perfect landing, right in the center," adding, "From the books of Jules Verne to today's lunar exploration missions, a new chapter has been completed in our journey to our celestial neighbor, the Moon."

Reid Wiseman, the commander aboard Orion, also stated shortly after splashdown, "It was an incredible journey. We are stable. All four astronauts are in good condition."

NASA and the U.S. military approached the Orion capsule, rescued the astronauts, and transported the four crew members by helicopter to the U.S. Navy ship John P. Murtha. After a health check, they are scheduled to transfer to NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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