'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 administrator says astronauts in 'great spirits'
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Artemis II marked America's "grand return to the moon" during a Wednesday evening news conference.
Isaacman said NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover Jr. and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, "are safe. They're secure, and they're in great spirits."
"We will continue to monitor their health and status as we move into the next phase of the Artemis II mission," he continued. "You have our commitment to keep the public as informed as possible on this historic mission.
"We will hold our celebration until this crew is under parachutes and splashes down off the West Coast," Isaacman said.
Isaacman said about 51 minutes into the flight, during a planned handover between satellites, there was a temporary loss of communications with the ground team not able to receive data from the crew or spacecraft. However, he said communications have since been restored.
Artemis II launch in photos
NASA's Artemis II mission launched on Wednesday evening, beginning the crew's 685,000-mile, 10-day journey to and from the moon.
The Orion spacecraft will loop astronauts around the moon and go farther into deep space than humans have ever traveled.
Here's a look at the launch in photos:
Orion's solar arrays fully deployed
Orion's solar arrays are now fully deployed, powering the spacecraft as it continues its journey toward the moon.
In about an hour, the crew will be in high Earth orbit, and will remain there for about 24 hours to conduct systems checks.
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado
'World will be watching': Sen. Maria Cantwell says of Artemis II crew
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, said Artemis II will establish the foundation for future missions.
"The world will be watching in awe as the Artemis II crew pushes the limits of what humanity can do by traveling around the moon," Cantwell said in a statement. "This trip lays the groundwork for returning to the moon's surface and staying there."