NASA's Artemis II Mission Concludes with Safe Splashdown

NASA's Artemis II mission concluded successfully on April 10 when the four-astronaut crew splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, after a 10-day journey that circled the Moon and set a new record for human space travel.

The crew, consisting of commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, traveled more than 252,000 miles from Earth, surpassing the previous record of 248,655 miles set by Apollo 13 in 1970. Their flight path took them within about 4,100 miles of the lunar surface at closest approach, marking the first crewed mission to the Moon's vicinity since the Apollo program ended in 1972. The mission tested the Orion spacecraft's systems, including life support, navigation, and propulsion, in preparation for future lunar landings.

Launched on April 1 aboard the Space Launch System rocket, the crew achieved several historic milestones. Koch became the first woman to travel beyond low Earth orbit and circle the Moon, Glover the first Black astronaut to do so, and Hansen the first non-American on a lunar mission. During the voyage, they...