The crew of the historic Artemis II mission successfully re-entered the earth’s atmosphere and splashed down off the San Diego coast. The four astronauts, Victor Glover, Christine Koch, Canadian Jeremy Hansen, and commander Reed Wiseman are in good condition following the historic mission.
Right to left: Kristina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, and Reed Wiseman (NASA)
The mission marked man’s first mission the moon in over 50 years, bringing the first humans into lunar orbit since Apollo 17. The crew made history when they became the farthest humans ever to travel from earth, reaching 252,756 miles from the blue planet and surpassing a record previously held by Apollo 13. The mission traveled 700,237 miles in total, or nearly 1.1 million kilometers. In space the the astronauts carried out critical tests that will pave the way for the future Artemis III and IV missions, with Artemis IV set to bring the first humans to the surface of the moon since 1972.
The crew are airlifted by a US Navy MH-60s Seahawk helicopter (NASA)
At time of posting, the crew are currently being lifted by helicopter to awaiting US Navy ship. This historic event marks a massive leap in our efforts to return back to the moon and eventually travel to Mars.
