'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
'Humanity has once again shown what we are capable of,' astronaut says
Speaking to Mission Control after the successful translunar injection burn, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen shared a message of gratitude, saying, "We firmly felt the power of your perseverance during every second of that burn."
"With that successful TLI, crew’s feeling pretty good up here on our way to the moon, and we just wanted to communicate to everyone around the planet who’s worked to make Artemis possible that we firmly felt the power of your perseverance during every second of that burn."
"Humanity has once again shown what we are capable of, and it’s your hopes for the future that carry us now on this journey around the moon," he added.
Translunar injection burn successfully completed
The translunar injection burn has been completed successfully. The Artemis II crew is on its way to the moon.
The crew received two caution indicators on their screen but determined it required no action and proceeded with the burn.
The burn occurred on time at the one day, one hour and 14-minute mark for the mission, according to Mission Control.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman was in Mission Control during the TLI burn.
Translunar injection burn is underway
The translunar injection burn is underway. The Orion spacecraft is now committed to its journey to the moon.
Houston is a 'go' for crucial translunar injection burn
Mission Control in Houston has given the final “go” for the translunar injection burn. The Artemis II crew said they are a “go” for the burn.
Mission Control told the astronauts, “When the engine ignites, you embark on humanity’s lunar homecoming arc and set the course to return Integrity and her crew safely home. Houston is go for TLS.”
Astronaut Christina Koch replied, “Crew is go for TLI. With this burn to the moon, we do not leave Earth, we choose it."
-ABC News' Matthew Glasser