Artemis II’s record-breaking journey around the moon ends with dramatic
splashdown
[April 11, 2026]
By MARCIA DUNN
HOUSTON (AP) — Artemis II’s astronauts closed out humanity’s first lunar
voyage in more than half a century with a Pacific splashdown on Friday,
blazing new records near the moon with grace and joy.
It was a dramatic grand finale to a mission that revealed not only
swaths of the lunar far side never seen before by human eyes, but a
total solar eclipse and a parade of planets, most notably our own
shimmering Earth against the endless black void of space.
With their flight now complete, the four astronauts have set NASA up for
a moon landing by another crew in just two years and a full-blown moon
base within the decade.
The triumphant moon-farers — commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor
Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen — emerged from their
bobbing capsule into the sunlight off the coast of San Diego.
In a scene reminiscent of NASA’s Apollo moonshots of yesteryear,
military helicopters hoisted the astronauts one by one from an
inflatable raft docked to the capsule, hauling them aboard for the short
trip to the Navy’s awaiting recovery ship, the USS John P. Murtha.
“These were the ambassadors from humanity to the stars that we sent out
there right now, and I can’t imagine a better crew,” NASA Administrator
Jared Isaacman said from the recovery ship.
NASA's Mission Control erupted in celebration, with hundreds pouring in
from the back support rooms. “We did it,” NASA's Lori Glaze rejoiced at
a news conference. “Welcome to our moonshot.”
Their Orion capsule, dubbed Integrity, made the entire plunge on
automatic pilot. The lunar cruiser hit the atmosphere traveling Mach 33
— or 33 times the speed of sound — a blistering blur not seen since the
1960s and 1970s Apollo.
The tension in Mission Control mounted as the capsule became engulfed in
red-hot plasma during peak heating and entered a planned communication
blackout. All eyes were on the capsule’s life-protecting heat shield
that had to withstand thousands of degrees during reentry.
Watching the drama unfold nearly 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) away,
the astronauts’ families huddled in Mission Control's viewing room,
cheering when the capsule emerged from its six-minute blackout and again
at splashdown.
The last time NASA and the Defense Department teamed up for a lunar
crew’s reentry was Apollo 17 in 1972. Artemis II came screaming back at
36,174 feet (11,026 meters) per second — or 24,664 mph (39,693 kph) —
just shy of the record before slowing to a 19 mph (30 kph) splashdown.
Until Artemis II, NASA’s fresh-from-the-moon homecomings starred only
white male pilots. Intent on reflecting changes in society, NASA chose a
diverse, multinational crew for its lunar comeback.
Koch became the first woman to fly to the moon, Glover the first Black
astronaut and Hansen the first non-U.S. citizen, bursting Canada with
pride. They laughed, cried and hugged all the way there and back,
striving to take the entire world along with them.
Artemis II's record flyby and views of the moon
Launched from Florida on April 1, the astronauts racked up one win after
another as they deftly navigated NASA’s long-awaited lunar comeback, the
first major step in establishing a sustainable moon base.
Artemis II didn't land on the moon or even orbit it. But it broke Apollo
13's 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's most heart-tugging scene, the teary
astronauts asked permission to name a pair of craters after their
moonship and Wiseman's late wife, Carroll.
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In this image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew,
counterclockwise from top left, Mission Specialist Christina Koch,
Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot
Victor Glover pose with eclipse viewers during a lunar flyby,
Monday, April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP)
During Monday's record-breaking flyby, they documented scenes of the
moon's far side never seen before by the human eye along with a
total solar eclipse. The eclipse, in particular, “just blew all of
us away,” Glover said.
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's first lunar explorers with Earthset, showing
our Blue Marble setting behind the gray moon. It was reminiscent of
Apollo 8’s famous Earthrise shot from 1968.
Born a decade after Apollo, Isaacman greeted the astronauts with
hugs as they headed from the helicopters to the ship’s medical bay
for routine checks. They walked by themselves, refusing the
wheelchairs offered them.
“We are back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon,
bringing them back safely and to set up for a series more,” Isaacman
said. “This is just the beginning.”
Their moonshot drew global attention as well as star power, earning
props from President Donald Trump; Canadian Prime Minister Mark
Carney; Britain's 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’s original “Star Trek.”
Artemis II was a test flight for future moon missions
Despite its rich scientific yield, the nearly 10-day flight was not
without technical issues. Both the capsule’s drinking water and
propellant systems were hit with valve problems. In perhaps the most
high-profile predicament, the toilet kept malfunctioning, but the
astronauts shrugged it all off.
As for the heat shield, military aircraft crews photographed it from
afar during reentry, and divers checked it from underneath as the
capsule floated in the Pacific. More detailed examinations are
planned.
“We can’t explore deeper unless we are doing a few things that are
inconvenient,” Koch said, “unless we’re making a few sacrifices,
unless we’re taking a few risks, and those things are all worth it.”
Added Hansen: “You do a lot of testing on the ground, but your final
test is when you get this hardware to space and it’s a doozy.”
Under the revamped Artemis program, next year’s 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’s south pole in 2028.
The Artemis II astronauts' allegiance was to those future crews,
Wiseman said.
“But 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,” he said.
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