ISLAMABAD: The Artemis II mission has concluded successfully, with its crew returning safely to Earth after completing a landmark 10-day journey around the Moon.
NASA confirmed that the Orion spacecraft re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed before making a controlled splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. Recovery teams were swiftly deployed to retrieve the astronauts.
Welcome home Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy! 🫶
The Artemis II astronauts have splashed down at 8:07pm ET (0007 UTC April 11), bringing their historic 10-day mission around the Moon to an end. pic.twitter.com/1yjAgHEOYl
— NASA (@NASA) April 11, 2026
The mission marked several milestones, including Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen becoming the first from his country to participate in a lunar expedition. The crew also travelled farther from Earth than any humans in history.
NASA officials hailed the mission as a significant step forward in plans for future lunar exploration. Associate administrator Amit Kshatriya said the journey had paved the way for upcoming missions, though considerable work still lies ahead.
Orion programme manager Howard Hu described the achievement as “historic”, expressing optimism about future missions and noting that the data collected would play a crucial role in shaping upcoming expeditions. He added that Artemis II signals the start of a “new era of human space exploration.”
After landing, the astronauts exited the capsule into a recovery raft before being airlifted by helicopter to a nearby US naval vessel.
They later underwent initial medical assessments before being taken for further evaluation.
