The Nasa astronauts of the Artemis II crew landed back safely to Earth following an historic lunar fly-by, marking a huge breakthrough for future moon landings and an eventual Mars mission.
The crew landed off the coast of San Diego in California just passed 1am this morning UK time, with Nasa reporting a clean bill of health for each of its crew members, including Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen.
This comes after the crew had travelled to the far side of the moon, which was normally hidden from the human eye, including a 40 minute communication blackout, where they were cut off entirely from the Earth. The team were also granted the opportunity to take some spectacular pictures of the moon, the Earth, as well as a total solar eclipse.
It was reported that the crew's Orion capsule was expected to hit the atmosphere at approximately 24,000mph (38,625kph), or about 32 times the speed of sound. This landing was described by Mission Control's Rob Navias as a "perfect bullseye splashdown".
Prior to the deployment of parachutes upon their landing, contact with the crew was cut off for several minutes due to the intensity of their return, which led to the capsule's fall to just 17mph before they landed on the water.
Engineers had previously altered the descent trajectory in order to reduce the risk of the module burning up. A critical test of the spacecraft's heat shield saw temperatures outside soaring to as high as 2,760 degrees.
As the crew landed, cheers erupted from their families in Mission Control in Houston when the capsule emerged from the communication blackout and at splashdown.
The four crew members emerged from the capsule, an hour after landing in the Pacific Ocean, before being taken to the nearby naval ship USS John P Murtha by helicopter. They them walked across the deck after undergoing initial medical checks on board. They are now expected to return to the Johnson Space Centre in Houston.
Speaking about this landing, Jared Isaacman, Nasa administrator said: “This is just the beginning".
He added: “We are back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon, bringing them back safely and to set up for a series".
Isaacman's associate administrator, Amit Kshatriya said the craftsman's systems had "performed as designed".
“This moment belongs to the thousands of people across 14 countries who built, tested, and trusted this vehicle", Kashatriya said. “Artemis II proved the vehicle, the teams, the architecture, and the international partnership that will return humanity to the lunar surface".
“Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy carried the hopes of this world farther than humans have travelled in more than half a century", he added. “Fifty‑three years ago, humanity left the Moon. This time, we returned to stay. The future is ours to win".
The crew are hopeful of a return to the Moon by 2028, before China reaches it in 2030, according to reports.
