Moon mission team returns to Earth

LOS ANGELES — Four astronauts have returned safely to Earth after completing a 10-day mission around the moon, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.

The Artemis II astronauts received a welcome home on Saturday as they expressed awe over their lunar flyby mission. The crew spoke at a news conference as NASA took a victory lap following the mission.

Flanked on stage by mission commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen, astronaut Christina Koch called for people on Earth to embrace their shared humanity.

"What struck me wasn't necessarily just Earth, it was all the blackness around it. Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe," said Koch.

"There's one new thing I know and that is: Planet Earth — you are a crew."

The Orion capsule touched down at about 17:07 local time on Friday in the Pacific Ocean, in a recovery zone about 97 kilometers west of Point Loma, the westernmost tip of San Diego in California, according to US Coast Guard navigation notices.

Weather and sea conditions at the recovery site were favorable, with winds and wave heights within NASA's required safety limits, said NASA. It was the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.

The capsule entered Earth's atmosphere at nearly 38,390 km per hour, NASA reported. After a planned six-minute communications blackout, drogue parachutes deployed first, followed by three main parachutes, sequentially slowing the capsule to splashdown speed.

During reentry, the capsule used a modified flight path designed to reduce peak heating loads on the heat shield. NASA developed the adjusted profile following issues identified during the Artemis I uncrewed test flight in 2022.

After splashing down, Wiseman said that all four crew members are in good condition.

"We are back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon, bringing them back safely," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said.

Following the splashdown, US Navy divers assisted the crew onto an inflatable recovery raft. Helicopters then transported them to the USS John P. Murtha for post-mission medical evaluations, according to NASA.

The Artemis II mission is regarded as a critical step toward future crewed lunar landings under the Artemis program, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface in 2028, with the long-term goal of building a base on the moon.

NASA said that engineers will immediately inspect the heat shield after the flight, with findings guiding design changes for Artemis III.

Xinhua - Agencies