Artemis II Splashes Down in Waters Near San Diego

The crewed lunar spacecraft Artemis II has completed its close flyby of the Moon and returned to Earth.

AP Yonhap News

According to a live broadcast by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on April 10 (local time), the crewed capsule 'Orion' from Artemis II splashed down in waters near San Diego, United States, at 8:07 p.m. Eastern Time.

This marks the spacecraft's return 10 days after its launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1.

Artemis II passed a point 248,655 miles (about 400,171 kilometers) from Earth, breaking the previous record for the longest spaceflight set by Apollo 13 in April 1970.

During this mission, Artemis II flew around the far side of the Moon, observing various features of the lunar surface and securing essential data for future deep space exploration.

With this return, humanity has rewritten history by visiting the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in December 1972.

The health status of the astronauts has not yet been officially confirmed. The U.S. military plans to approach the Orion capsule, rescue the astronauts, and transport them via MH-60 Seahawk helicopter to the U.S. Navy ship John P. Murtha.

After a medical checkup, the astronauts will be transferred to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, completing the return procedure.

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