'Welcome home, Artemis': Crew celebrates historic 10-day moon mission
After their historic lunar flyby, the crew safely splashed down in the Pacific.
NASA's Artemis II mission lifted off on April 1 at 6:35 p.m. ET from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The four-person crew completed a 695,081-mile, 10-day journey around the moon, also known as a lunar fly-by.
A "textbook" splashdown took place at 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday, April 10.
Key Headlines
- Crew makes 1st appearance since return from historic mission
- 'Welcome home, Artemis': Jubilant and emotional, crew speaks out on historic moon mission
- Trump says he will welcome Artemis II crew to White House 'soon'
- NASA officials hail 'new era' of space exploration after successful mission
- Crew members hoisted into helicopters
- All 4 crew members out of the capsule
NASA resolves flight termination issue, closes second hatch
NASA said it has resolved the Flight Termination System issue, adding it is "no longer a constraint" and is proceeding with countdown operations.
The issue affected the rocket, not the Orion spacecraft. The FTS is a signal to blow the rocket up if it starts heading in a direction that would endanger lives.
Orion would have separated from the rocket safely, and the rocket would be issued a command to self-destruct.
Additionally, the Launch Abort System hatch is now also closed. The closeout crew successfully closed both hatches on Orion, concluding the hatch preparation and closure phase of launch operations.
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado and Gio Benitez
Trump calls NASA administrator to 'wish everyone luck'
President Donald Trump called NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman Wednesday afternoon to "wish everyone luck this evening" ahead of the Artemis II launch, according to a post by one of Trump's top advisers.
"We will all be watching, along with the rest of the world," Dan Scavino, an assistant to the president and one of Trump's top aides, added in the post on X.
-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart
NASA troubleshooting Artemis II issue
NASA is troubleshooting an issue with the flight termination system (FTS), a critical safety component.
The FTS is designed to safely stop the rocket if it veers off its planned path, to protect people or property on the ground.
To help fix the issue, the team is bringing in a piece of hardware that was originally used on Space Shuttle missions.
-ABC News' Matthew Glasser and Briana Alvarado
Hatch seal check completed on Orion spacecraft
The closeout crew has completed its hatch seal check for the Orion crew module's side hatch, which allows them to watch for any loss of pressure over time or making sure the door is completely airtight.
Engineers are focusing on conducting a full cabin leak check before moving forward with closing the second hatch on the Orion spacecraft, which is the Launch Abort System hatch.
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado