Artemis II Astronauts Welcomed in Houston After Mission

HOUSTON The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis II mission received a hero's welcome in Houston on Saturday, capping a historic 10-day journey around the moon with emotional reunions and a standing ovation from hundreds of onlookers.

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, all from NASA, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency, splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on Friday evening. The crew had launched earlier in the month aboard the Orion spacecraft, completing the first crewed flight test of NASA's deep space exploration vehicle. Their path took them farther from Earth than any humans since Apollo 13 in 1970, reaching a distance of more than 200,000 miles while circling the moon without landing.

After initial recovery operations and medical checks in San Diego, the astronauts flew to Houston's Ellington Field at Johnson Space Center on Saturday afternoon. They shared brief reunions with family members before addressing a crowd that included NASA officials and agency representatives. The event marked the end of a mission that tested systems for future lunar landings and provided...