Splashdown! Enjoy these 10 iconic photos from Artemis II
After the historic Artemis II return to Earth, here's a look at the most stunning and defining images taken during the NASA mission.
Eric Lagatta- NASA's Artemis II mission has provided stunning new images of the Earth, moon, and cosmos.
- The four-person crew returned to Earth in a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
- The mission sets the stage for the first human moon landing since the Apollo era.
For days, the breathtaking visuals captured during NASA's Artemis II moon mission have captivated people around the world.
The celestial wonders the four astronauts observed and documented since launching April 1 from Florida have revealed Earth, our moon and the surrounding cosmos in new light.
Now that the Artemis II crew has come home in a splashdown near California, here's a look at some of the most stunning and mission-defining images taken during a journey that will set the stage for the first human moon landing since 1972.
Ten days, 10 photos. Best images from NASA's Artemis II moon mission
Artemis II returns to Earthafter historic moon mission
The landing comes about nine days after launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and about four days after a trailblazing flyby of the moon. On April 6, the astronauts flew farther from Earth than anyone in human history while seeing sights of the moon's far side never seen in person from no closer than 4,067 miles above the surface.
Amid the four-day journey back to Earth, the Orion spacecraft used our planet's gravity to naturally "slingshot," or pull the vehicle back home, negating the need for propulsion or much fuel.
During the reentry and landing leg of the journey, the astronauts aboard Orion blazed at about 25,000 mph through Earth's atmosphere, enduring temperatures reaching about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The vehicle deployed parachutes to make a water landing on the West Coast, where recovery teams airlifted the astronauts to a U.S. Navy vessel and transported them to shore.
Ultimately, the astronauts will board an aircraft bound for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they will reunited with their families.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]