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Artemis II successfully splashes down, completing historic lunar mission

NASA said the four astronauts completed a 10-day test flight and became the farthest humans from Earth at 252,756 miles.

  • On Friday, April 10, 2026, NASA's Artemis II crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, concluding a historic 10-day lunar mission aboard the Orion capsule, nicknamed Integrity.
  • Launched April 1, 2026, from Kennedy Space Center, the four-person crew—Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen—traveled 252,756 miles from Earth, setting a new record for human deep-space distance.
  • During re-entry, the Orion capsule endured temperatures reaching 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit; after a six-minute communications blackout, the spacecraft deployed three main parachutes to stabilize descent.
  • U.S. Navy recovery teams aboard the USS John P. Murtha retrieved the crew shortly after splashdown; a medical officer confirmed all four astronauts were healthy and ready to return to Houston.
  • With Artemis II complete, NASA turns attention to the Artemis III mission, slated for 2027, to test integrated operations with commercial moon landers as a stepping stone toward establishing a long-term lunar presence.
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NASA's Artemis II mission has been successfully concluded this Friday after the return to Earth of its...

·Spain
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The first humans who have been near the moon for more than 50 years are back on Earth. Spectacular images show the fiery re-entry of the "Orion" capsule into the Earth's atmosphere. The three Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch as well as the Canadian Jeremy Hansen moved 406.773 kilometers from the Earth at their moon orbit – further than any other human being.The four "Artemis 2" astronauts landed in space after about ten d…

·Vienna, Austria
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USA Today broke the news in United States on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
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