'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 looking into 'minor smell' on Orion reported by crew
NASA leaders addressed a minor smell reported by the crew Saturday morning, prompting checks by the flight team.
"So we did actually look at our power data, our heater data," Orion deputy program manager, Debbie Korth said in a news conference. "Nothing looks anomalous."
She also added that a similar smell was reported on the ground, which could possibly point to a mechanical source.
“The teams are, looking at some data we have on the ground with that same similar type smell had been reported and think it might be more mechanical in nature, some tapes and some other materials that might be off casting, but really early in that investigation, so don't think there's any hazardous condition,” Korth said.
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado
Crew will get view of the moon never before seen by humans, NASA says
NASA leaders confirmed Monday's lunar flyby will allow the crew to see parts of the moon humans have never seen before.
NASA's Science Mission Directorate lead Kelsey Young explained Saturday that parts of the lunar far side remain unfamiliar to human eyes because the Apollo missions were planned to launch when the near side was illuminated.
"So as they get closer, they'll be able to see features that human eyes have never before seen," Young at a news conference.
NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) Program John Honeycutt noted that even regions just imaged by robotic spacecraft are now visible to humans, referring to a photo taken from Orion on Friday.
The crew will also witness a solar eclipse during the mission lasting about 53 minutes, occurring an hour after Earthrise.
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado
NASA releases new 'selfie' of Orion capsule, prepares for Day 4
NASA released a brand-new high-resolution "selfie" of Orion in space.
The space agency says the image was taken with a camera mounted on one of the spacecraft’s solar array wings during a routine inspection on the second day of the Artemis II mission.
The Artemis crew has several items on their agenda for the fourth day of their mission.
At 9:10 p.m. ET, the space agency says Victor Glover will take manual control of Orion for a scheduled deep‑space handling test to see how the spacecraft responds to different maneuvers far from Earth.
In addition, NASA flight controllers have scheduled a 24‑hour acoustics test to help engineers better understand sound levels inside Orion’s cabin.
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado
Artemis II crew woken up with Chappell Roan bop
The Artemis crew awoke from their sleep to the song "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan around 12:35 p.m. ET.
“We were all eagerly awaiting the chorus,” one crew member said.
NASA also just released new downlinked images from Orion capturing Commander Reid Wiseman and Mission Specialist 1 Christina Koch gazing at Earth from Orion’s windows, a reminder of home as they travel toward the moon.
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado