The Artemis II mission has successfully concluded after a 10-day journey around the Moon, with NASA’s Orion spacecraft safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean marking one of the farthest human spaceflights ever conducted.

The four astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen performed a lunar flyby, testing critical systems before using the Moon’s gravity to return to Earth.

Reentry was one of the most intense phases, with the capsule hitting speeds near 40,000 km/h and enduring temperatures of around 2,800°C before deploying parachutes and landing safely at sea, where U.S. Navy recovery teams secured the crew and spacecraft.

The mission represents a major milestone for NASA, paving the way for future lunar landings under Artemis III and long-term plans for human missions to Mars.