Four NASA Artemis II crew members returned to Earth after completing a lunar-orbit mission of about 10 days. According to NASA’s official announcement on April 11, the Orion spacecraft Integrity splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, California, at 5:07 p.m., and all aboard were confirmed safe.

Artemis II was NASA’s lunar-orbit flight mission conducted again for the first time in about 50 years. The flight was also the first crewed test flight of the Space Launch System, or SLS, and Orion. The crew flew about 252,760 miles from Earth, reaching the farthest point ever attained by humans in terms of distance traveled.

The crew orbited the moon and photographed parts of the lunar surface that had not been observed before. They also observed a total solar eclipse. They also identified a new crater and named one of them after Carol, the wife of Wiseman, who died of cancer in 2020.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (재러드 아이작먼) described the mission as a “perfect mission” after splashdown. He said the flight was the first crewed test flight of SLS and Orion and a mission that pushed into a deeper-space environment than before. He also stressed that the United States had entered a stage of sending astronauts back to the moon and returning them safely.

NASA said the test flight assessed crewed lunar-flight capabilities by taking real risks. The mission became the starting point for follow-on plans leading to a return to the lunar surface, construction of a lunar base, and preparation for subsequent phases.