Artemis II astronauts return to Earth after historic crewed mission to the Moon
com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_5504,w_8256/715446' alt='NASA astronaut and Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover is pictured here in the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II lunar flyby April 6, 2026. (photo credit: NASA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)' title='NASA astronaut and Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover is pictured here in the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II lunar flyby April 6, 2026.
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What Happened
The four Artemis II astronauts, returning from the world's first crewed Moon voyage in over half a century, hurtled back toward Earth on Friday aboard their gumdrop-shaped Orion spacecraft, headed for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off southern California.
The finale to NASA's celebrated 10-day mission was expected to begin with the separation of Orion's crew capsule from its service module, followed by a fiery re-entry through Earth's atmosphere and a six-minute radio blackout before the capsule parachutes into the sea. m. ET off the coast of San Diego.
The quartet blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1, lofted into an initial Earth orbit by NASA's giant Space Launch System rocket before sailing on around the far side of the Moon, venturing deeper into space than any humans before them.
In so doing, they became the first astronauts to fly in the vicinity of the Moon since the Apollo program of the 1960s and '70s. Glover, Koch and Hansen also made history as the first Black astronaut, the first woman and first non-US citizen, respectively, to take part in a lunar mission.
Why It Matters
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Implications
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