The artemis 2 splashdown saw the four astronauts return safely to Earth after a mission that carried them around the far side of the Moon, as reported by BBC and by Chris Taylor.
The capsule separated from its service module roughly half an hour before reentry, and videos showed the crew module alone during final approach, as described by Chris Taylor. The module plunged through the atmosphere, then deployed parachutes and splashed into the Pacific off the California coast, where recovery teams awaited.
Recovery on the water involved a stabilizing collar and a hexagonal inflatable platform called a front porch, which took longer than expected to inflate, according to Chris Taylor. After the collar and front porch attached to the capsule, divers and recovery personnel helped the astronauts onto the platform, and helicopters then airlifted the crew to the deck of the USS John P Murtha.
Reflections, Records, And Crew Reactions
The crew spoke to reporters from orbit before return, and Victor Glover told media the team was eager to share images and stories from the mission, according to BBC. Commander Reid Wiseman said the mission included 40 minutes of lost contact with Earth when the spacecraft was beyond direct communication, and the crew used a short reflective moment to mark the experience, as reported by the Los Angeles Times and relayed in the BBC coverage.
The BBC reported the mission broke a record for human travel distance, surpassing a 1970 mark held by Apollo 13. Although Orion did not land on the Moon, it performed a flyby of the lunar far side, and the astronauts saw areas of that hemisphere with human eyes for the first time.
Personal moments made headlines as well. Wiseman described naming a lunar crater after his late wife Carroll, which moved the crew, and Christina Koch said she would miss the camaraderie of the mission while noting the team accepted inconvenience and risk to explore further, as quoted by BBC. Family members served as the crew’s primary source of news about public reaction during the flight, BBC coverage said.
