NASA’s historic Artemis 2 mission around the far side of the moon officially ended on April 10, as astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen’s Orion spacecraft splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean, having survived the fires of re-entry.
The 10-day mission saw humans return to lunar space for the first time since Apollo 17 visited the moon over five decades ago, and broke the record for the most distant crewed spaceflight in the history of human space exploration. Christina Koch, meanwhile, became the first woman to travel beyond low Earth orbit and see the far side of the moon, while Victor Glover became the first person of color to witness its barren beauty up close.
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1 – A crew with their moon rocket
Days before launch, the Artemis 2 crew posed in front of their Space Launch System rocket as it waited upright at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
2 – Readying for flight
This candid shot shows Artemis 2 astronauts dressed in their orange Orion Crew Survival System spacesuits, which are designed to protect the crew during ascent through Earth’s atmosphere and upon re-entry. The fashionable orange color was selected in part to help recovery crews spot the astronauts in the ocean should they ever need to exit Orion without the aid of divers, while the helmet is lighter and more durable than any previous flight suit.
3 – Launching to the moon
Artemis 2’s colossal moon rocket slipped the surly bonds of Earth at 6:35 p.m. EDT (2235 GMT) on April 1, blasting into the skies above NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, to open a new era of crewed spaceflight, which could one day see American boots return to the lunar surface, this time to stay.
4 – A view of Earth from space
This photo of Earth was captured by Artemis 2 mission commander Reid Wiseman on Flight Day 2 of the 10-day mission, shortly after the Orion spacecraft executed its translunar injection burn to set it on a course for the far side of the moon. Auroras can be seen shining at the top and bottom of Earth’s disk, while a flare of zodiacal light is visible to the lower right, where sunlight caught dust particles spread throughout the plane of the ecliptic.
5 – Incredible Orion selfies
Christina Koch was also caught photobombing in the window of an out-of-this-world Orion spacecraft selfie alongside the zero-gravity indicator Rise on that same day! The photo was captured using a modified GoPro camera attached to one of Orion’s four solar panels, which power the spacecraft by converting sunlight into usable electricity.
6 – Earthset
The Artemis 2 crew were able to capture a gorgeous image of Earth setting behind the lunar horizon during their historic flyby of the moon’s far side. White clouds can be seen swirling across the illuminated crescent of Earth’s disk encompassing Australia and Oceana, as the cratered lunar surface stretches out beneath.
This wide-angle view of Earthset was captured using one of the solar-panel-mounted GoPro cameras. The white mass of the Orion spacecraft’s service module dominates the left side of the image, festooned with attitude control thrusters, solar panels and, of course, NASA’s red “worm” logo, alongside that of its partner, the European Space Agency, which designed and built the module.
7 – The far side of the moon
This photo of the far side of Earth’s moon was captured on Flight Day 6, roughly three hours into the crew’s lunar observation period, according to NASA. On this day, the astronauts took the opportunity to name one previously unobserved crater after Reid Wiseman’s late wife Carroll, and another after their Orion spacecraft, Integrity. They also observed multiple impact flashes as micrometeoroids collided with the lunar surface, which were greeted by “audible screams of delight” by NASA scientists.
8 – Earthrise from around the moon
The astronauts were able to see a crescent Earth emerge from behind the night side of the moon at the tail end of their flyby of the lunar far side. The shot is a fascinating reverse of the historic “Earthrise” image captured by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders during the first mission to orbit Earth’s natural satellite.
9 – A total solar eclipse from space
Soon after their lunar flyby, the astronauts of Artemis 2 witnessed a total solar eclipse as the sun passed behind the lunar disk. The brighter crescent visible on the left side is created by a phenomenon called “Earthshine”, wherein sunlight reflects off our planet’s atmosphere to strike the moon.
10 – Eclipse safety in space
Here the Artemis 2 astronauts can be seen wearing eclipse glasses to protect their eyes as the lunar disk swept over the face of our parent star — after all common sense doesn’t stop at the atmosphere’s edge.
11 – A group hug felt around the world, from space
The crew of Artemis 2 share a group hug on Flight Day 7 of their 10-day journey, a day after completing their successful flyby of the lunar far side. By then, Orion had travelled beyond the lunar sphere of influence, where the moon’s gravitational pull is stronger than that of the Earth.
12 – Earth looms large in Orion’s window
Earth steadily grew larger in Orion’s window in the days that followed, as the spacecraft accelerated dramatically towards our Blue Marble while held tightly in its gravitational embrace. This image was taken from the NASA livestream on April 10 from one of Orion’s solar-panel-mounted GoPros, mere hours before re-entry.
13 – Return from the moon
Having journeyed to the moon and back, Artemis 2’s Orion capsule descended safely under parachutes. Minutes before, the capsule and its crew had faced the fires of re-entry — and with it a brief loss of communications — following weeks of speculation on the durability of their all important heat shield.
14 – Splashdown
Artemis 2’s Orion spacecraft “Integrity” splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 p.m. EDT on April 10 (0007 GMT on April 11). The capsule was swiftly surrounded by helicopters and fast boats deployed from the USS John P. Murtha amphibious transport ship.
15 – Pulling Orion from the sea
With the astronauts safely aboard, recovery teams set to work towing the charred Orion spacecraft into the well deck of the USS John P. Murtha. Prior to being moved, the capsule was fitted with an inflatable collar and other buoyancy aides to keep it in the upright “Stable-1” position.
16 – Journey’s end
Having returned safely to Earth, Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman rests a hand on the scorched outer hull of the Integrity capsule as it rests on the well deck of the recovery ship. Its NASA logo and American flag are charred but visible above the nozzles of attitude control thrusters, having survived the hostile environment of interplanetary space, and the fires of re-entry.
Lego
Lego Icons NASA Artemis Space Launch System (10341)
The most detailed Artemis SLS Lego set, this adult-aimed model has 3,601 pieces and stands 28-inches (71 cm) tall. We thought “Lego has knocked it out of the park” in our full build review. Don’t forget about the newer, more compact and much cheaper Lego Technic SLS set, only $60, also ‘launches’ with some clever Technic moving parts.
Want more Artemis 2 stories? Then why not find out what astronauts Wiseman, Koch, Hansen and Glover thought of their historic moon mission in their own words? Be sure to check out our Artemis Program explainer article while you’re at it, and discover what NASA has planned for Artemis 3, and beyond.