Update: Artemis II Crew Comes Home

The Artemis II mission successfully completed a 10-day lunar flyby, traveling over 694,000 miles and reaching farther from Earth than any humans before. The crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean after enduring a six-minute communications blackout during reentry at 35 times the speed of sound. Their firsthand observations, emotional reflections, and the mission's technical success pave the way for sustained lunar exploration and future Mars missions.

Hear the astronauts' raw, emotional reflections on seeing Earth from deep space and understand how Artemis II sets the foundation for humanity's return to the Moon and beyond.

1. 01Artemis II flew farther from Earth than any prior human mission, covering 694,481 miles and circling the Moon to observe uncharted regions.
2. 02During reentry, the Orion capsule experienced extreme conditions—35 times the speed of sound and several thousand degrees Fahrenheit—resulting in a predicted six-minute communications blackout.
3. 03The astronauts emphasized unity, calling Earth a 'lifeboat' in the vastness of space, and framed their journey as a relay baton passed to future explorers.