'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 crew dons eclipse glasses in space
NASA released a photo of the Artemis II crew donning eclipse glasses ahead of the solar eclipse.
The image shows (from far left) Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover protecting their eyes at key moments during the solar eclipse they experienced on Monday.
Artemis II crew captures total solar eclipse in space
NASA has shared a photo of the moon fully eclipsing the sun, taken aboard the Orion spacecraft.
The image shows a mostly darkened moon with the solar corona, which is the Sun's outermost atmosphere, glowing around the moon's edge.
The Artemis II astronauts are the first humans to have witnessed a total solar eclipse in space.
The solar eclipse lasted for about an hour, according to NASA.
NASA shares 1st images of Artemis II lunar flyby, including Earthset
NASA has shared the first photos from the Artemis II crew's historic lunar flyby, including a stunning image of Earth.
The photo shows the crew's view of an Earthset as the planet disappears beyond the lunar horizon and the astronauts make their way to the far side of the moon.
The photo bears a striking resemblance to "Earthrise," a photo taken in 1968 from lunar orbit by astronaut William Anders during the Apollo 8 mission, which was the first crewed mission to reach the moon.
Trump speaks with Artemis II astronauts: 'You've made history'
President Donald Trump called the Artemis II astronauts after the historic lunar flyby on Monday and invited them to the Oval Office upon their return to Earth.
“Today you’ve made history and made all America really proud, incredibly proud,” Trump said. “We have a lot of things to be proud of lately, but this is, there’s nothing like what you’re doing circling around the moon for the first time in more than half a century and breaking the all-time record for the farthest distance from planet Earth.”
After inviting the astronauts to visit the White House, Trump said, "I’ll ask for your autograph ... I don’t really ask for autographs much, but you deserve that."
"I look forward to having you in the Oval Office at the White House, and we will celebrate your incredible achievements and trials," the president said.
The president also said the U.S. will “establish a permanent presence on the moon” one day in the future, as well as “push on to Mars,” though he recognized that the latter feat may not necessarily occur during his administration.
“We'll plant our flag once again, and this time we won't just leave footprints, we'll establish a permanent presence on the moon, and we'll push on to Mars, that'll be very exciting. I'm waiting for that so much. I'd love to be here, but maybe we won't quite make it in terms of timing,” Trump said.