{"id":639828,"date":"2026-04-11T07:58:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T05:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=639828"},"modified":"2026-04-11T08:48:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T06:48:28","slug":"splashdown-for-record-breaking-moon-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/science\/639828-splashdown-for-record-breaking-moon-mission.html","title":{"rendered":"Splashdown for record-breaking Moon mission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NASA\u2019s Artemis crew of four astronauts returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, capping humanity\u2019s first return to the Moon in more than 50 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lockheed Martin-built Orion crew capsule carrying the Artemis II crew completed a fiery plunge through the planet\u2019s atmosphere, before touching down under parachutes off the coast of California just after 17:00 local time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASA said the crew was in good health. \u201cA perfect bullseye splashdown for Integrity,\u201d said Rob Navias, public affairs officer of mission operations at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom the pages of Jules Verne to a modern-day mission to the Moon, a new chapter of the exploration of our celestial neighbour is complete,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their completion of a journey spanning 1.1 million kilometres from liftoff\u00a0<\/strong>represents the last major test of the 10-day Artemis II mission, which sent the astronauts\u00a0around the Moon<\/a>, broke human spaceflight distance records and\u00a0captured breathtaking images<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US Navy boats could be seen on a live broadcast encircling the bobbing Orion capsule after splashdown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recovery team unfurled a giant inflatable raft known as the \u201cfront porch,\u201d and successfully pulled all four astronauts from the capsule roughly an hour and a half after landing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They went to a recovery ship to undergo medical checks before embarking on their journey home to their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe entire trip was spectacular, the landing was perfect and, as President of the United States, I could not be more proud!\u201d Donald Trump said in a social media post. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI look forward to seeing you all at the White House soon. We\u2019ll be doing it again and then, next step, Mars!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite a near picture-perfect return, the crew experienced some issues with their satellite phone communications between them and the recovery team when they were in the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was a textbook entry and a textbook touchdown for Integrity. Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen back on Earth after a journey around the moon,\u201d Navias said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speeds over 40,000km\/h during re-entry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, left, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist are seen sitting on a Navy MH-60 Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after they were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, Friday, 10 April 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Photographer: NASA\/Bill Ingalls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The mission captivated audiences around the world from the moment the capsule blasted off atop the Boeing-built Space Launch System rocket on 1 April. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viewers tuned in to witness the crew\u2019s daily life \u2014 ranging from mundane rituals like shaving and troubleshooting a broken toilet, to capturing pictures of an eclipse during the farthest human space voyage in history. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHonestly, I\u2019m still at a loss for words,\u201d NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, surrounded by cheering spectators, said on a live broadcast aboard the recovery boat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just couldn\u2019t be more proud of the entire workforce, the years, the effort, the late nights, all the hard work from across the country that contributed to this incredible moment right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During their roughly 13-minute plunge back to Earth, plasma built up on the outside of Orion and temperatures reached nearly 2,760\u00b0C. Orion reentered Earth\u2019s atmosphere at about 40,200km\/h.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All eyes were on the performance of Orion\u2019s heat shield, a protective barrier on the outside of the spacecraft designed to safeguard the capsule from extreme temperatures that build up during the descent through the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leading up to this mission, critics such as former NASA astronaut Charles Camarda\u00a0raised concerns<\/a>\u00a0about the heat shield, arguing it\u2019s not safe enough to protect the crew.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the Artemis I mission in 2022, larger-than-expected chunks of the heat shield broke off during the uncrewed capsule\u2019s descent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASA made the decision<\/a>\u00a0to fly Artemis II with the same heat shield design but altered the path Orion took through the atmosphere to minimise the length of time the capsule spent in super-extreme temperatures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For subsequent Artemis missions, the craft will get a new heat shield.\u00a0While the Artemis II mission was deemed a success, the trip was not without technical issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Propulsion system needs extensive redesign<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, left,\u00a0and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, talk with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman at their Navy MH-60 Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha. Photographer: NASA\/Bill Ingalls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

NASA also discovered a problem with the propulsion system on Orion\u2019s cylindrical service module and how it stays pressurised. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That system will likely need an \u201cextensive redesign\u201d for future missions, according to Amit Kshatriya, NASA\u2019s associate administrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is a new finding. Certainly, we\u2019re going to go investigate that,\u201d Howard Hu, NASA Orion program manager, said during a press conference after splashdown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to look at that and move forward and make sure that we make some changes if necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the mission now over, NASA will apply the lessons learned from Artemis II as the agency strives to land humans on the Moon\u2019s surface as soon as 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the first mission \u2014 our first mission \u2014 to the Moon of many more to come,\u201d Lori Glaze, NASA\u2019s acting associate administrator for exploration systems development, told reporters. \u201cAnd we can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NASA\u2019s Artemis crew of four astronauts returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, capping humanity\u2019s first return to the Moon in more than 50 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341034,"featured_media":639829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31750],"tags":[103206,104230,8789,104456,68508,104457,9563,82565,761,104453,104454,54505,37276,104455],"class_list":["post-639828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","tag-artemis-ii","tag-artemis-missions","tag-boeing","tag-christina-koch","tag-jared-isaacman","tag-jeremy-hansen","tag-moon","tag-moon-missions","tag-nasa","tag-orion-capsule","tag-reid-wiseman","tag-space-launch-system-sls","tag-space-travel","tag-victor-glover"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639828"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341034"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639828"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":639835,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639828\/revisions\/639835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}