NASA Welcomes Record-Setting Artemis II Moonfarers Back to Earth

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-welcomes-record-setting-artemis-ii-moonfarers-back-to-earth/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nn202614 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 8:07 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 10, off the coast of San Diego, completing a nearly 10-day journey that took them a record setting 252,756 miles from home at their farthest distance from Earth. “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.” During their mission, Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen flew more than 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. With the crew safely on Earth, NASA and its partners now will turn attention to preparing for Artemis III, when a new Orion crew will test integrated operations with a commercially built Moon lander in low Earth orbit.