NASA Artemis II Moon Crew Recovery Operations: New Photos

NASA Artemis II Moon Crew Recovery Operations: New Photos

Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, from NASA, is extracted from NASA’s Orion spacecraft and loaded onto an inflatable raft, called the front porch, following splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, California.

Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, from NASA, is extracted from NASA’s Orion spacecraft and loaded onto an inflatable raft, called the front porch, following splashdown

Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch, from NASA, is extracted from NASA’s Orion spacecraft and loaded onto an inflatable raft, called the front porch

Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch, from NASA, is extracted from NASA’s Orion spacecraft and loaded onto an inflatable raft

Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), is extracted from NASA’s Orion spacecraft and loaded onto an inflatable raft

Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover, from NASA, is extracted from NASA’s Orion spacecraft and loaded onto an inflatable raft

From left to right, Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, are extracted from NASA’s Orion spacecraft and loaded onto an inflatable raft

From left to right, Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, are extracted from NASA’s Orion spacecraft and loaded onto an inflatable raft

The first crewed test flight of NASA’s Artemis program lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1, 2026, carrying the first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century. 

During their nearly 10-day mission, the crew completed a record-setting lunar flyby, taking them 252,756 miles at their farthest distance from Earth and 4,067 miles above the lunar surface at their closest approach. 

Artemis II splashed down at 8:07 p.m. April 10 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. Following splashdown and recovery, the four crew members underwent post-mission medical evaluations before returning to shore and boarding an aircraft bound for Houston. Upon arrival, the crew was welcomed by and reunited with their families, friends, and agency workforce. The crew now will begin their postflight reconditioning, medical and human performance evaluations, and lunar science debriefs.

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis II Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Credit: NASA/Kevin Davis
Date: April 10, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #ParachuteLanding #Astronauts #ReidWiseman #VictorGlover #ChristinaKoch #JeremyHansen #CSA #Canada #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #PacificOcean #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education