NASA’s Artemis 2 mission has returned to Earth, ending a historic 10-day orbit around the Moon.
The Honesty The Orion spacecraft and the four brave souls on board looked like a burning ball of fire as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere. After six excruciating minutes, the plasma around the capsule dissipated and the planned communications blackout ended, with mission control and the crew re-established.
At 22,000 feet (6,706 meters), the drogue deployed parachutes to slow and stabilize the capsule. The drogues were then released at 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) and the three main parachutes were deployed. This reduced the speed of the Integrity to less than 136 miles per hour (219 kilometers per hour). At the point of atmospheric entry, the capsule was falling at about 23,864 mph (38,405 km/h)—30 times the speed of sound.
After slowing to just 20 mph (32 km/h), Integrity splashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California at 8:07 p.m. ET. This marked the end of the Artemis 2 crew’s 694,481-mile (1,117,659 km) journey around the far side of the Moon and back.
In the next few hours, NASA and US military recovery teams will extricate the astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen — from the capsule and transport them by helicopter to the USS. John P. Murtha. After boarding, they will undergo a post-mission medical examination. Finally, they will return to shore and fly to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
A stunning success
The safe return of this mission is a major milestone for NASA’s Artemis program. Artemis 2 was the first crewed test flight of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, and both vehicles passed with flying colors. then a surprisingly smooth start on April 1, Integrity separated from SLS and set course for the Moon. That was it the first crewed spacecraft to leave Earth orbit in more than half a century.
Artemis 2 astronauts after reaching the Moon on April 7 broke the record for the furthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth. This record was set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970 at a distance of 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) from our home planet. As Integrity flies on the far side of the Moon, the crew The observed and photographed parts of the surface have never been seen by human eyes. The images they sent to Earth over the past 10 days has been truly extraordinary.
After leaving behind the Moon, Integrity began the long journey home. It took the spacecraft about three days to fly 252,756 miles (406,771 km) across the Moon and reach our planet today. Atmospheric reentry was the most dangerous part of the mission, so it was a relief to see Honesty jump in one piece.
The success of Artemis 2 laid the foundation for the lunar landing, continued lunar presence, and eventually crewed missions to Mars. Perhaps more importantly, the mission showcased humanity at its best, not just for its technological achievements. The crew created precious moments of camaraderie, humility, and reverence throughout their adventures. As these astronauts looked at Earth from far, far away, they reminded us that we are all connected at a time when our world feels like it is falling apart.
If you’ve been following Gizmodo since its launch, thank you. Until next time, ad astra!
