NASA’s Artemis II spacecraft carrying four astronauts splashed down Friday off the California coast, completing the agency’s first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.
Mission commander Reid Wiseman said he and crewmates Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen were “stable” and in “great condition” after landing.
“They’re in great condition,” said NASA public affairs officer Rob Navias during the agency’s livestream.
The capsule endured a brief communications blackout during re-entry before Wiseman confirmed contact with mission control in Houston. “We have you loud and clear,” he said.
NASA and the U.S. military recovered the capsule after splashdown near San Diego and prepared to extract the crew for transport to a recovery ship.
The spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at more than 30 times the speed of sound, with temperatures reaching roughly half that of the Sun’s surface. The heat shield’s performance was a key focus after issues during the uncrewed Artemis I test flight.
“This was a textbook entry and a textbook touchdown,” Navias said.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman called the flight “a perfect mission” and said it marked a step toward future lunar landings.
The nine-day, one-hour, 31-minute mission began with launch from Florida on April 1. It set a record for the farthest humans have traveled from Earth at 406,771 kilometers (252,756 miles).
Glover became the first person of color to fly around the Moon, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first Canadian.
NASA will now inspect the Orion capsule’s heat shield before planning future Artemis missions.