Artemis II mission concludes with splashdown in Pacific Ocean

Michael Hernandez

The Artemis II mission concluded Friday with a historic splashdown off the coast of San Diego, California, capping a milestone journey for humankind.

The Orion crew module entered Pacific waters at 8.07 ET (0007GMT) after a high-speed descent through the Earth’s atmosphere, pushing through temperatures that exceeded 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,649 Celsius).

All four crew members — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — arrived safely after the vessel gradually slowed from speeds of about 33 times the speed of sound, hitting the Pacific at 19 mph (30 kph).

The crew traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history after completing a lunar flyby and sling-shotting around the moon to launch the return trip to Earth.

The Orion spacecraft reached a maximum distance of about 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth, surpassing the record set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970.

During the mission, the four astronauts observed the moon’s far side and witnessed a solar eclipse visible only from space. The spacecraft also made its closest approach to the moon at about 4,067 miles above the surface before beginning its return trajectory, according to NASA.