NASA’s Artemis 2 lands in Pacific Ocean in ‘perfect’ landing for lunar exploration

Ten days later, the four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft returned to Earth, and their mission around the Moon was a success.

As part of NASA’s Artemis II mission, Integrity, the name of the crew’s spacecraft, dropped into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California at 5:07 PM Pacific Time, according to NASA. The four crew members on board – three Americans and one Canadian – were all “green” (or safe and sound) after the Orion spacecraft’s “perfect” landing.

The crew consisted of Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. From takeoff to splashdown, the quartet stayed in space for just over nine days (NASA calls it a 10-day mission).

Artemis II was NASA’s first mission to lunar orbit in 50 years. The crew traveled further from Earth than humans have ever gone before, reaching about 252,760 miles from Earth. During the trip, the crew orbited the moon, flew over previously unseen parts of the surface, took photos, and even witnessed a total solar eclipse. They identified a new crater named after Wiseman’s wife, Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020.

“These were the ambassadors of the stars that we sent there,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said after the landing. “I couldn’t imagine a better crew. It was a perfect mission.”

Isaacman, a commercial astronaut who has flown two private orbital missions, also visited

“America is back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon and bringing them home safely,” he wrote in X, later crediting the entire NASA staff. “This was a test mission, the first manned flight for SLS and Orion, and it carried real risks as we ventured further into the harsh space environment than ever before. They accepted the risks for everything we had to learn and the exciting mission that would follow to return to the lunar surface, build a lunar base, and prepare for what happens next.”