SAN DIEGO — The Orion space capsule carrying the <a href="https://veronews.com/2026/04/01/artemis-ii-launches-to-the-moon-for-historic-lunar-fly-by-mission/">Artemis II astronauts who conducted a lunar flyby of the far side of the moon,</a> splashed down safely off the coast of San Diego Friday evening. The historic mission saw the four space travelers voyage above the lunar surface - a mission that has not been conducted since 1972. [caption id="attachment_230964" align="alignleft" width="300"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-230964" title="84ffed59 f718 4e8c 95a6 977db48ecee0" src="https://veronews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/84ffed59-f718-4e8c-95a6-977db48ecee0-300x167.jpg" alt="84ffed59 f718 4e8c 95a6 977db48ecee0" width="300" height="167" /> SCREENSHOT FROM NASA LIVE FEED[/caption] "It was a perfect bullseye splashdown," NASA mission control officials in Houston said in a live broadcast of the event. "The Orion vehicle performed like a champ all the way down into Earth's atmosphere." The Artemis II crew are <span style="font-weight: 400;">NASA Astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, </span><a href="https://veronews.com/2020/11/19/happiness-relief-astronaut-vic-glover-talks-space-stem-programs/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Pilot Victor J. Glover</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen. The <a href="https://veronews.com/2026/03/31/best-places-in-indian-river-county-to-watch-historic-artemis-ii-moon-launch/">astronauts launched April 1 from the Kennedy Space Center</a> in Cape Canaveral - a liftoff seen across Brevard and Indian River counties - and embarked on a 10-day trip to the moon and back.</span> The Orion space capsule - named "Integrity" - re-entered Earth's atmosphere shortly before 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, April 10. Orion descended from an altitude of about 400,000 feet and traveled at a maximum speed of 24,000 mph as it pushed from spaceflight and into atmospheric flight, according to NASA officials. There was an expected 6-minute loss of communications between Orion and NASA's ground control systems because of plasma and peak heating around the space capsule. The temperature around Orion - which reached up to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit - was repelled by Orion's heat shield. NASA ground officials regained voice communications with the crew in Orion about 8 p.m. The space craft deployed small and large parachutes in segments to slow its speed down to 19 mph, according to NASA. The larger parachutes were 265 feet long. Orion splashed down about 8:08 p.m. southwest of San Diego. "This is a perfect descent for Integrity," NASA officials said. "This was a textbook splashdown. Integrity's astronauts are back on Earth." <em>Video by Nick Samuel</em> [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://veronews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/29a3f4da-9a87-4139-9555-706d3d21b48f.mp4"][/video] Moments after splashdown, Wiseman said over radio communications that the Artemis II crew were "all in good shape." A recovery team of about 40 people deployed an inflatable raft - called "The Front Porch" - to get to the capsule and remove the astronauts. The recovery team opened the side hatch shortly before 9 p.m. Excitement and jubilation could be heard in the NASA mission control room as the recovery team removed the astronauts one-by-one from the capsule about 9:30 p.m. Medical officials evaluated the astronauts. The Artemis II crew were then hoisted into a pair of Navy helicopters and flown to the nearby <a href="https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/display-news/Article/4452625/uss-john-p-murtha-to-support-nasas-artemis-ii-mission/">USS John P. Murtha recovery ship</a>, where they were greeted by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and underwent further evaluation in a medical bay. <strong>Historic Moon Missions to Continue</strong> The Artemis II moon mission - which builds on the success of the 2022 uncrewed Artemis I lunar flyby - was historic in many ways. The latest lunar adventure had the first Black person, first woman and first Canadian venture above the moon. The Orion capsule looped around the dark side of the moon April 6, with their closest approach about 4,000 miles above the lunar surface. The moon-bound space capsule traveled 252,567 miles - beating Apollo 13's record of 248,655 miles in 1970 - before veering back to Earth. [caption id="attachment_230967" align="alignright" width="300"]<img class="wp-image-230967 size-medium" title="6de024b9 476c 4123 ac25 ebb238727b05" src="https://veronews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/NASA-Moon-300x200.jpg" alt="NASA Moon" width="300" height="200" /> PHOTO PROVIDED BY NASA[/caption] The Artemis II crew took pictures and documented observations of the moon, including the Orientale Basin - a nearly 600-mile-wide<span style="font-weight: 400;"> crater on the boundary between the moon’s near and far sides. The moon crew also documented other impact craters, ancient lava flows and six meteoroid impact flashes on the lunar surface, according to NASA officials. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Artemis II crew named one crater after the Orion capsule "Integrity." The astronauts named another crater after the Wiseman's late wife, Carroll, who died at 46 years old from a five-year battle with cancer in 2020. </span> The lunar-bound explorers also experienced a solar eclipse from space as the sun aligned behind the moon. More pictures of the moon that were taken during Artemis II's lunar flyby on April 6 can be found on <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/gallery/lunar-flyby/">NASA's website</a>. NASA plans to land astronauts on the moon's south pole region and build a moon base during the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iv/">Artemis IV and Artemis V missions in 2028</a>.