Artemis 2 Completes Lunar Flyby with Safe Splashdown

NASA's Artemis 2 mission concluded successfully on April 10 with the safe splashdown of its Orion spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, marking the first crewed flight beyond Earth's orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. The four astronauts aboard—commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch of NASA, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency—completed a 10-day, 694,481-mile journey that looped around the Moon's far side after launching from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1.

Early post-mission analysis by NASA engineers indicates that critical systems performed as designed, validating hardware for future lunar operations. The Space Launch System rocket delivered Orion to its trajectory with high precision, achieving main engine cutoff at over 18,000 miles per hour. During reentry at nearly 35 times the speed of sound, Orion's heat shield showed reduced charring compared to the uncrewed Artemis 1 test, aligning with ground predictions. Launch pad upgrades minimized damage, and the landing was accurate to within 2.9 miles of the target. Teams recovered components like seats and avionics for inspection and reuse, while addressing a minor urine vent...