'Welcome home, Artemis': Crew celebrates historic 10-day moon mission
After their historic lunar flyby, the crew safely splashed down in the Pacific.
NASA's Artemis II mission lifted off on April 1 at 6:35 p.m. ET from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The four-person crew completed a 695,081-mile, 10-day journey around the moon, also known as a lunar fly-by.
A "textbook" splashdown took place at 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday, April 10.
Key Headlines
- Crew makes 1st appearance since return from historic mission
- 'Welcome home, Artemis': Jubilant and emotional, crew speaks out on historic moon mission
- Trump says he will welcome Artemis II crew to White House 'soon'
- NASA officials hail 'new era' of space exploration after successful mission
- Crew members hoisted into helicopters
- All 4 crew members out of the capsule
Artemis II preparing to enter final phase of mission
The Artemis II crew is preparing to enter the final phase of its historic mission.
During Wednesday's mission status briefing, NASA’s reentry teams shared more about the readiness of the Orion spacecraft heading into splashdown day.
“And when the mission goes well, it can look like flying to the moon is easy," Lakeisha Hawkins, acting deputy associate administrator at NASA, said at the start of the conference. “It certainly is not.”
Engineers recently completed a final inspection of the Orion crew module, reviewing imagery of the spacecraft’s surface. At this point, NASA reports “no concerns” and “no issues” that would impact reentry.
The spacecraft is expected to reach a maximum speed of about 34,965 feet per second during reentry, and if all goes according to plan, astronauts can experience up to 3.9gs of force.
According to current forecasts, NASA flight director Rick Henfling says the weather is expected to cooperate for a Friday splashdown.
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado and Matthew Glasser
'Moon Joy': NASA releases new photos of Artemis II crew
Newly released photos from NASA capture the joy of the Artemis II crew after they looped around the far side of the moon
In one photo, entitled "Moon Joy," Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover take time for a group hug inside the Orion spacecraft on April 7 as they head home.
Also seen in the photos is the plushie, "Rise," designed by a second grader who won a contest for his toy to travel with the astronauts.
At just under 200,000 miles from Earth, the Artemis II crew is closing in on the final destination of its cosmic ride.
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado
Artemis II crew awakes to Queen and David Bowie's 'Under Pressure'
The Artemis II crew awoke around 11:35 a.m. ET to the 1981 song "Under Pressure," by Queen and David Bowie.
The astronauts also received a message from the Canadian Space Agency, of which mission specialist Jeremy Hansen is part.
The message starts with audio counting down the crew's liftoff and Canadian Space Agency employees shouting, "Go Artemis II!"
"Your friends and colleagues at the Canadian Space Agency wish you another great day on your voyage," the message stated. "Canadians everywhere are inspired by your journey and we’re with you every step of the way. Let’s go!"
Weather for Artemis II splashdown appears to be holding up
The weather for the Artemis II splashdown on Friday appears to be holding up. Currently, the spacecraft is tentatively scheduled to splash down at 8:07 p.m. ET off the coast of San Diego.
Artemis II recovery criteria require winds below 28.7 miles per hour, wave heights under six feet and no rain or lightning within 30 nautical miles of the splashdown site.
Overall, much of these criteria should be met, according to forecasts. Rain should stay well north of the region and clouds shouldn't be outside of the safety criteria, and winds and wave height should be within the necessary range for a successful splashdown and recovery.
-ABC News' Kenton Gewecke