TO INFINITY AND BEYONDÂ
Artemis II crew all smiles after moon trip as Nasa hails ânew era of explorationâ with next mission âaround the cornerâ
THE Artemis II crew are all smiles after returning to Earth from their historic 10-day journey into space.
NASAÂ has hailed the trip a ânew era of explorationâ, with the next mission âjust around the cornerâ.
The crew floated off the coast of San Diego following an incredible 25,000mph descent through the atmosphere into what Nasa called a âbullseye splashdownâ.
After landing in the sea Nasa announced the safe return of âfour green crew members, that is not their complexion, that is their conditionâ.
Images show the crew beaming with thumbs up before they were whisked away on helicopters to the nearby USS John P. Murtha.
They are expected to spend the night aboard the ship and will be flown to Houston on Saturday, where they will be reunited with their families, NASA said.
Amit Kshatriya, associate administrator of Nasa, called the mission âa huge stepâ for the confidence of the lunar campaign.
He described the challenge in bringing home the crew from the moon.
He said: âWe had less than a degree of an angle to hit after a quarter of a million miles to the moon, and their team hit it. That is not luck. That is a thousand people doing their jobs.
â53 years ago, humanity left the moon. This time we return to stay. Let us finish what they started. Let us focus on what was left undone.
âLet us not go to plant flags and leave, but to stay with firmness in our purpose.â
History was made when the Artemis II mission thundered out of Earthâs orbit on April 1.
Key moments from the historic Artemis II mission
After a 10-day lunar mission that has reignited global interest in space exploration, the astronauts of Artemis II have returned home. Here are some of the key moments from their record-breaking mission.
- Artemis II thundered out of the Earthâs orbit on April 1.
- The four astronauts travelled further from earth than any human in history, smashing the previous record set by the 1970 Apollo 13 mission.
- The crew experienced a communication blackout which lasted almost an hour after setting their distance record and passing across the far side of the moon.
- The first ever pictures of earth as seen from the mysterious far side of the moon were taken.
- New craters were discovered on the lunar surface, which have now been named by astronauts.
- A fault put the spacecraftâs £17.4 million toilet out of action for six hours.
- Artemis II left the Moonâs âsphere of influenceâ on Tuesday to begin their journey home.
The four daring astronauts lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on April 1 for a journey to pave the way for a permanent base on Earthâs closest neighbour.
Lori Glaze, from Nasaâs Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said: âThis mission, as weâve been talking about, is just the beginning⊠our first mission to the moon of many more to come.
âAnd we canât wait. Our teams are so ready to get to work on the next missions and explore the lunar surface, and bring the world along with us.â
Orion programme manager Howard Hu said the moment marked âthe start of a new era of space explorationâ.
Adding: âI am so happy that we get to have this moment, but weâre going to have a lot of these moments coming up.â
The Artemis II crew travelled deeper into space than any humans before them â over 4,000 miles more than the record of 248,655 set by Apollo 13 in 1970.
The huge mission follows nearly three years of training for the group, who are the first selection of astronauts to fly in Nasaâs Artemis program.
Nasa is already preparing its next Artemis mission for 2027 which will be another crewed test.
Rick Henfling, Artemis II entry flight director, said âthe next mission is right around the cornerâ.
Meanwhile Amit Kshatriya, associate administrator of NASA said the crew for Artemis III will be named âsoonâ.
âI will not put units on that⊠but soonâ, he added.
After that itâs the most talked about Artemis IV mission in 2028, where astronauts will walk on the Moon.
THE Artemis II crew are all smiles after returning to Earth from their historic 10-day journey into space.
NASAÂ has hailed the trip a ânew era of explorationâ, with the next mission âjust around the cornerâ.
The crew floated off the coast of San Diego following an incredible 25,000mph descent through the atmosphere into what Nasa called a âbullseye splashdownâ.
After landing in the sea Nasa announced the safe return of âfour green crew members, that is not their complexion, that is their conditionâ.
Images show the crew beaming with thumbs up before they were whisked away on helicopters to the nearby USS John P. Murtha.
They are expected to spend the night aboard the ship and will be flown to Houston on Saturday, where they will be reunited with their families, NASA said.
Amit Kshatriya, associate administrator of Nasa, called the mission âa huge stepâ for the confidence of the lunar campaign.
He described the challenge in bringing home the crew from the moon.
He said: âWe had less than a degree of an angle to hit after a quarter of a million miles to the moon, and their team hit it. That is not luck. That is a thousand people doing their jobs.
â53 years ago, humanity left the moon. This time we return to stay. Let us finish what they started. Let us focus on what was left undone.
âLet us not go to plant flags and leave, but to stay with firmness in our purpose.â
History was made when the Artemis II mission thundered out of Earthâs orbit on April 1.
Key moments from the historic Artemis II mission
After a 10-day lunar mission that has reignited global interest in space exploration, the astronauts of Artemis II have returned home. Here are some of the key moments from their record-breaking mission.
- Artemis II thundered out of the Earthâs orbit on April 1.
- The four astronauts travelled further from earth than any human in history, smashing the previous record set by the 1970 Apollo 13 mission.
- The crew experienced a communication blackout which lasted almost an hour after setting their distance record and passing across the far side of the moon.
- The first ever pictures of earth as seen from the mysterious far side of the moon were taken.
- New craters were discovered on the lunar surface, which have now been named by astronauts.
- A fault put the spacecraftâs £17.4 million toilet out of action for six hours.
- Artemis II left the Moonâs âsphere of influenceâ on Tuesday to begin their journey home.
The four daring astronauts lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on April 1 for a journey to pave the way for a permanent base on Earthâs closest neighbour.
Lori Glaze, from Nasaâs Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said: âThis mission, as weâve been talking about, is just the beginning⊠our first mission to the moon of many more to come.
âAnd we canât wait. Our teams are so ready to get to work on the next missions and explore the lunar surface, and bring the world along with us.â
Orion programme manager Howard Hu said the moment marked âthe start of a new era of space explorationâ.
Adding: âI am so happy that we get to have this moment, but weâre going to have a lot of these moments coming up.â
The Artemis II crew travelled deeper into space than any humans before them â over 4,000 miles more than the record of 248,655 set by Apollo 13 in 1970.
The huge mission follows nearly three years of training for the group, who are the first selection of astronauts to fly in Nasaâs Artemis program.
Nasa is already preparing its next Artemis mission for 2027 which will be another crewed test.
Rick Henfling, Artemis II entry flight director, said âthe next mission is right around the cornerâ.
Meanwhile Amit Kshatriya, associate administrator of NASA said the crew for Artemis III will be named âsoonâ.
âI will not put units on that⊠but soonâ, he added.
After that itâs the most talked about Artemis IV mission in 2028, where astronauts will walk on the Moon.
