{"id":386173,"date":"2026-04-11T04:24:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T04:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/386173\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T04:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T04:24:08","slug":"nasas-artemis-ii-astronauts-splash-down-on-earth-after-lunar-mission-science-and-technology-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/386173\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Artemis II astronauts splash down on Earth after lunar mission | Science and Technology News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Published On 11 Apr 202611 Apr 2026<\/p>\n

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Updated: an hour agoUpdated: an hour ago<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Artemis II astronauts have returned safely to Earth, completing the first crewed mission to travel around the Moon in more than 50 years.<\/p>\n

The Orion spacecraft splashed down<\/a> in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California at 5:07pm local time (00:07 GMT) on Friday, following a high-speed re-entry through Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

Recovery teams were already in position, moving quickly to secure the capsule and bring the crew aboard.<\/p>\n

On board were NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.<\/p>\n

Minutes before re-entry, Wiseman, the mission commander, radioed mission control: \u201cWe got a great view of the Moon out window 2 \u2013 looks a little smaller than yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGuess we\u2019ll have to go back,\u201d came the reply from Houston.<\/p>\n

The return marked a crucial test for the Orion spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, demonstrating it can safely withstand the intense conditions of a lunar re-entry.<\/p>\n

The capsule endured a dramatic 13-minute descent, slamming into the atmosphere at extreme speed. Temperatures on its exterior climbed to about 2,760 degrees Celsius (5,000 degrees Fahrenheit), hot enough to generate a plasma layer that briefly cut off communications with the crew.<\/p>\n

Contact was restored as parachutes deployed, slowing Orion\u2019s descent before it gently hit the ocean.<\/p>\n

Recovery crews later opened the hatch and began extracting the astronauts, who reported minor communication issues but were otherwise in good condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon, bringing them back safely and [are] set up for a series more,\u201d said NASA chief Jared Isaacman from a US Navy recovery ship.<\/p>\n

The four astronauts launched just over a week ago<\/a> from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, embarking on a 10-day journey that took them farther from Earth than any humans since the Apollo era.<\/p>\n

They travelled around the far side of the Moon, testing systems designed for future missions, before heading back to Earth.<\/p>\n

A new perspective on Earth<\/p>\n

Artemis II<\/a> is widely seen as a critical test flight for future Moon missions, particularly Artemis IV, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo era.<\/p>\n

Engineers will now analyse key data from the mission, including the performance of the Orion capsule\u2019s heat shield as well as navigation systems and life-support technology, all essential for safely carrying humans deeper into space.<\/p>\n

The return also included one of the most challenging phases of the journey: a brief communication blackout during re-entry, caused by intense heat building up around the spacecraft.<\/p>\n

But on top of its record-setting distance, the mission also marked other historic firsts. Glover became the first person of colour to travel around the moon, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first non-American.<\/p>\n

During their journey, the crew reported in vivid detail features of the lunar surface and later witnessed a solar eclipse as well as meteorite impacts.<\/p>\n

Mission commander Wiseman reflected that \u201cwhat we really hoped in our soul is that we could, for just a moment, have the world pause \u2013 and remember that this is a beautiful planet in a very special place in our universe\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should all cherish what we have been gifted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every morning since the astronauts\u2019 departure, NASA has sent a song to Artemis II to start the day.<\/p>\n

On Friday, the astronauts awoke to the tune of Live\u2019s song Run to the Water and the country hit Free, by Zac Brown Band.<\/p>\n

\"AArtemis II Commander Reid Wiseman shares a picture of Earth taken from the Orion spacecraft\u2019s window on April 2, 2026 [NASA\/EPA]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published On 11 Apr 202611 Apr 2026 | Updated: an hour agoUpdated: an hour ago NASA\u2019s Artemis II…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[85,46,43,141,4855,145,1032],"class_list":{"0":"post-386173","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-science-and-technology","13":"tag-space","14":"tag-united-states"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}