'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
Crew members hoisted into helicopters
One by one, the members of the Artemis crew are being hoisted into waiting helicopters after the successful splashdown following the 10-day mission around the moon.
The helicopters are carrying the astronauts to the USS John P. Murtha off the coast of San Diego.
All 4 crew members out of the capsule
Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman is the last crewmember to come out of the capsule.
The process to hoist them up to awaiting Navy helicopters will begin shortly.
Crew being extracted from capsule
The four Artemis II crewmembers are emerging from the Orion capsule for the first time since beginning their mission 10 days ago.
A burst of applause and cheers could be heard in NASA's Mission Control Center as the first crew member came out.
The astronauts will get a chance to readjust to Earth's gravity on an inflatable raft known as the front porch before helicopters take them to the USS John P. Murtha.
Trump congratulates crew
President Donald Trump congratulated the Artemis II crew, calling it a "spectacular" trip, and said he looks forward to seeing them at the White House "soon," in a social media post following the successful splashdown.
A TV was wheeled into the roundtable dinner that the president was attending in Charlottesville, Virginia, and he watched the Artemis splashdown, according to a White House official.