The four astronauts of the Artemis II mission landed on Friday, as planned, off the coast of California, thus completing a test mission around the Moon executed to “perfection” by the POThalf a century after the Apollo program.
The members of the mission were removed from the capsule and taken by helicopter to the recovery ship of the Navy USS John P. Murtha hours later, in the middle of a careful process that involved dozens of medical divers, who certified that they were in excellent condition. However, they underwent further evaluation on the US Navy ship.
“Houston, this is Integrity (ship’s nickname). We receive you loud and clear,” the commander announced. Reid Wiseman after overcoming the most dangerous phase of entering the atmosphere, at more than 38 thousand kilometers per hour.
“What a trip. We’re stable,” he added, reporting a code “green” for the four crew members, meaning they were in good condition.
After taking off from Florida on April 1, the Americans Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover, along with Canadian Jeremy Hansenthey ventured further into space than any human being before. They returned with hundreds of gigabytes of data from the first lunar trip since the last Apollo mission in 1972.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacmanaboard the Navy ship USS John P. Murtha, declared that “this is not just an achievement for NASA. It is an achievement for humanity, once again, a historic mission to the Moon and back.” Isaacman also praised the crew, calling them “absolutely professional astronauts, excellent communicators and almost poets,” as well as “ambassadors of humanity to the stars.”
“I can’t imagine a better crew than Artemis II, which has just completed a perfect mission. We have resumed the task of sending astronauts to the Moon and bringing them back safely. This is just the beginning. We will do it again frequently, sending missions to the Moon until we land on it in 2028 and begin building our base.”
The president of the United States, donald trumpcongratulated the crew and assured that the country will take new steps towards future space explorations, including an eventual mission to Mars.
Read also Colombia responds to Ecuador with 100% tariffs; the crisis between both countries escalates
“Congratulations to the great and very talented crew of Artemis II. The entire trip was spectacular, the landing was perfect and, as President of the United States, I could not be more proud,” Trump said in a message through his social network Truth Social.
The president added that he hopes to receive the astronauts at the White House soon and announced that his administration will continue to promote space exploration. “We’ll do it again and then, next step, Mars,” he said.
The Orion capsule made a soft splashdown, at 30 kilometers per hour, in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of San Diego, thanks to huge parachutes, at 5:07 p.m. local time (00:07 GMT on Saturday), exactly as the US space agency had planned. This return of the crew represents a relief for the families of the astronauts and constitutes an undeniable success for NASA.
Read also NASA keeps the Artemis II bathroom operational; drainage problem forces alternative measures
Wiseman, before splashdown, as they approached Earth, said goodbye to the Moon: “We have a great view of the Moon from the window,” he radioed to Mission Control. “It’s a little smaller than yesterday.”
NASA plans a new mission in 2027 that will not go to the Moon, before sending astronauts to the surface of the Earth’s satellite in 2028 during the fourth Artemis mission, in the last year of Donald Trump’s presidency… and theoretically before China, which plans to send its taikonauts to the Moon in 2030.
NASA shared new images captured by the astronauts of the Artemis mission, which must land in the Pacific Ocean on Friday. Photo: NASA
