The Artemis II expedition has taken the four astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen and Reid Wiseman on the first manned trip past the moon in more than 50 years.
After nine days, one hour and 32 minutes in space, the crew is now back on their home planet. At exactly the scheduled time, at 02:07 Swedish time, the expedition's Orion spacecraft landed under parachutes in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, USA.
"I'm speechless. The childhood Jared inside me can't believe what I've just seen," said Jared Isaacman when the spacecraft landed on Earth.
“Excellent condition”
Upon splashdown, commander Reid Wiseman stated over the radio that all astronauts aboard Orion were "green."
"They are in excellent condition. That's what it means," said Rob Navias, who commented on the event during NASA's live broadcast.
After landing, the crew was transported by helicopter to the USS John P. Murtha for medical checks. They are expected to return to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston this evening, Swedish time.
After the landing, Donald Trump praised the crew and called the space trip "spectacular."
"As President of the United States, I couldn't be more proud. (...) We will do it again and then, next step, Mars!", he writes on Truth Social.
Broke a record
Re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere occurred at times at a speed of Mach 33 - 33 times the speed of sound - and the re-entry was described afterwards as exemplary by NASA. However, a minor problem arose once the astronauts landed, when a satellite phone would not work properly.
During the expedition, the crew broke the record for the longest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth (approximately 406,800 kilometers).
