Artemis 2 astronauts return to Earth after historic mission to the Moon

The Artemis 2 Orion capsule under parachutes on its way to a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026.(Image credit: NASA)

#Artemis

The four astronauts of NASA’s Artemis 2 mission safely returned to Earth on Friday, April 10, 2026, concluding the first crewed mission beyond Earth’s orbit since the Apollo program more than 50 years ago

The Orion capsule, named “Integrity,” landed smoothly in the Pacific Ocean, about 3,200 km off the coast of San Diego, California.

The landing was perfect, described by NASA as “book text.” After a high-speed reentry-about 38,600 km/h-the capsule was slowed by parachutes and touched down exactly as planned.

A rescue team from the USS John Murtha was on site to collect the astronauts, who underwent medical evaluations and were reported to be in good health.

The mission began on April 1, 2026, with the launch of NASA’s powerful SLS rocket.

On board were Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover (the first Black man to leave Earth’s orbit), Christina Koch (the first woman to go beyond Earth’s orbit), and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency (the first non-American to accomplish this feat).

For the first time, four astronauts traveled together into deep space.

During the journey, Orion followed a free-return trajectory, using the Moon’s gravity to return to Earth without the need for major course corrections.

On April 6th, the spacecraft passed just 6,545 km from the lunar surface, on the far side of the satellite.

The astronauts closely observed the Orientale Basin-a huge crater never before seen illuminated by the Sun by human eyes-and witnessed a total solar eclipse caused by the Moon, which lasted an impressive 54 minutes.

At that moment, the spacecraft broke the record for distance from Earth, reaching more than 406,000 kilometers, surpassing the mark set by Apollo 13.

The crew were thrilled by the images.

Victor Glover described the lunar landscapes as “magical,” with islands of light and valleys that resembled black holes.

Jeremy Hansen, by breaking the distance record, challenged new generations to surpass it soon.

Reid Wiseman, in turn, honored his late wife by naming a lunar crater after her, a moment he considered the high point of the mission for the team.

Artemis 2 served as a full human human test of the Orion spacecraft and the SLS rocket.

Despite minor issues with the spacecraft’s toilet and adjustments to the reentry to protect the heat shield, everything went as expected.

The astronauts were able to observe the Moon with human eyes, providing a more subtle and detailed view that may aid in future scientific discoveries.

This mission marks humanity’s return to the Moon.

It paves the way for the next stages of the Artemis program: Artemis 3, scheduled for 2027, which should take astronauts to orbit the Moon with a lander, and future missions that include landing in the lunar south polar region and, further on, trips to Mars.

With the success of Artemis 2, NASA demonstrates that it is ready to build a lasting presence on the Moon and pave the way for even more ambitious deep space explorations.

It was a historic day, celebrated as a great step for human exploration of the Solar System.

Published in 04/11/2026 03h37

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Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption. Information about DOI, author and institution can be found in the body of the article.

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