HOUSTON (AP) \u2014 Artemis II\u2019s astronauts returned from the moon with a dramatic splashdown in the Pacific on Friday to close out humanity\u2019s first lunar voyage in more than a half-century.<\/p>\n
It was a triumphant homecoming for the crew of four whose record-breaking lunar flyby revealed not only swaths of the moon\u2019s far side \u2014 never seen before by human eyes \u2014 but a total solar eclipse.<\/p>\n
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Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada\u2019s Jeremy Hansen hit the atmosphere travelling Mach 33 \u2014 or 33 times the speed of sound \u2014 a blistering blur not seen since NASA\u2019s Apollo moonshots of the 1960s and 1970s. Their Orion capsule, dubbed Integrity, made the plunge on automatic pilot.<\/p>\n
The tension in Mission Control mounted as the capsule became engulfed in red-hot plasma during peak heating and entered a planned communication blackout.<\/p>\n
All eyes were on the capsule\u2019s life-protecting heat shield that had to withstand thousands of degrees during reentry. On the spacecraft\u2019s only other test flight \u2014 in 2022, with no one on board \u2014 the shield\u2019s charred exterior came back looking as pockmarked as the moon.<\/p>\n
Like so many others, lead flight director Jeff Radigan anticipated feeling some of that \u201cirrational fear that is human nature,\u201d especially during the six-minute blackout that preceded the opening of the parachutes.<\/p>\n
The recovery ship USS John P. Murtha awaited the crew\u2019s arrival off the San Diego coast, along with a squadron of military planes and helicopters.<\/p>\n
The last time NASA and the Defense Department teamed up for a lunar crew\u2019s reentry was Apollo 17 in 1972.<\/p>\n
Artemis II was projected to come screaming back at 36,170 feet (11,025 metres) per second \u2014 or 24,661 mp\/h (39,668 km\/h) \u2014 just shy of the record before slowing to a 19 mp\/h (30 km\/h) splashdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cA perfect bull\u2019s-eye splashdown,\u201d reported Mission Control\u2019s Rob Navias.<\/p>\n
Artemis II\u2019s record flyby and views of the moon<\/p>\n
Launched from Florida on April 1, the astronauts racked up one win after another as they deftly navigated NASA\u2019s long-awaited lunar comeback, the first major step in establishing a sustainable moon base.<\/p>\n
Artemis II didn\u2019t land on the moon or even orbit it. But it broke Apollo 13\u2019s distance record and marked the farthest that humans have ever journeyed from Earth when the crew reached 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers). Then in the mission\u2019s most heart-tugging scene, the teary astronauts asked permission to name a pair of craters after their moonship and Wiseman\u2019s late wife, Carroll.<\/p>\n
During Monday\u2019s record-breaking flyby, they documented scenes of the moon\u2019s far side never seen before by the human eye along with a total solar eclipse. The eclipse, in particular, \u201cjust blew all of us away,\u201d Glover said.<\/p>\n
Their sense of wonder and love awed everyone, as did their breathtaking pictures of the moon and Earth. The Artemis II crew channeled Apollo 8\u2019s first lunar explorers with Earthset, showing our Blue Marble setting behind the gray moon. It was reminiscent of Apollo 8\u2019s famous Earthrise shot from 1968.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just makes you want to continue to go back,\u201d Radigan said on the eve of splashdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the first of many trips and we just need to continue on because there\u2019s so much\u201d more to learn about the moon.<\/p>\n
Their moonshot drew global attention as well as star power, earning props from President Donald Trump; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney; Britain\u2019s King Charles III; Ryan Gosling, star of the latest space flick Project Hail Mary; Scarlett Johansson of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; and even Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner of TV\u2019s original Star Trek.<\/p>\n
Despite its rich scientific yield, the nearly 10-day flight was not without technical issues. Both the capsule\u2019s drinking water and propellant systems were hit with valve problems.<\/p>\n
In perhaps the most high-profile predicament, the toilet kept malfunctioning, but the astronauts shrugged it all off.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t explore deeper unless we are doing a few things that are inconvenient,\u201d Koch said, \u201cunless we\u2019re making a few sacrifices, unless we\u2019re taking a few risks, and those things are all worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Hansen: \u201cYou do a lot of testing on the ground, but your final test is when you get this hardware to space and it\u2019s a doozy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under the revamped Artemis program, next year\u2019s Artemis III will see astronauts practice docking their capsule with a lunar lander or two in orbit around Earth. Artemis IV will attempt to land a crew of two near the moon\u2019s south pole in 2028.<\/p>\n
The Artemis II astronauts\u2019 allegiance was to those future crews, Wiseman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we really hoped in our soul is that we could for just for a moment have the world pause and remember that this is a beautiful planet and a very special place in our universe, and we should all cherish what we have been gifted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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