The four astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission returned safely to Earth April 10, completing a flight around the moon with technological achievements that will propel future exploration.
NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen flew the first crewed lunar mission since the end of the Apollo program in 1972. President Trump has made space exploration a priority for the United States. During his first administration, he supported the Artemis Accords , a nonbinding set of principles to guide civil space exploration. Sixty-one nations have now signed the accords.
The astronauts’ observations and groundbreaking images of the lunar landscape will inform NASA’s plans to build a moon base and eventually send astronauts to Mars in future Artemis missions.
The Earth is seen setting beyond the lunar surface during the Artemis II mission April 6. (NASA)
The Orion capsule of the Artemis II mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego Friday evening, having proven that the spacecraft is capable of flying astronauts to the moon and back and paving the way for future missions.
“This is a relay race,” Koch said, noting that she and her fellow astronauts on the mission carried actual relay batons — the kind used in a track meet — which they will pass off to Artemis III astronauts. In 2027, Artemis III will test the space capsule’s interoperability with lunar landers, ahead of a planned 2028 moon landing of Artemis IV.
A pioneering mission
The Artemis II crew set a record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth at 406,771 kilometers (252,756 miles), beating the Apollo missions’ previous record.
The astronauts made detailed and awe-inspiring observations of the moon’s dark side. “We have seen just some extraordinary things,” Hansen said. “Things that I thought we might see … and other things that I just had never even imagined.”
They studied the moon’s craters and noted colors they could see with the naked eye, providing insights into the moon’s topography.
And they took rare photos of an eclipse from space. “It just blew us all away,” said Glover, the mission’s pilot. “It was one of the greatest gifts of that part of the mission.”
While they collected more data than they could transmit during the flight, Glover said, “All the good stuff is coming back with us.”
The Artemis II crew’s many observations include a rare view of a solar eclipse from space. (NASA)
On April 7, the astronauts fielded a call from the president. “One of the biggest highlights was coming back from the far side of the Moon and having the first glimpses of planet Earth again,” Koch said on the call. “It really just reminds you what a special place we have and how important it is for our nation to … lead and not follow in exploring deep space.”
The president, calling them an inspiration to the entire world, said, “You really are modern-day pioneers, all of you.”