NASA’s Artemis II crew has returned safely to Earth after completing a landmark journey around the Moon, marking the first crewed lunar mission in more than half a century.
The Orion capsule, named Integrity, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday evening off the coast of Southern California after nearly 10 days in space.
The four astronauts - NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen - were recovered in good condition following the mission’s dramatic conclusion.
The spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at extreme speed after a voyage covering more than 694,000 miles (around 1.12 million kilometres), including a close flyby of the Moon at roughly 252,000 miles (about 405,500 kilometres) from Earth. At its furthest point, the crew travelled deeper into space than any humans since the Apollo era.
Their return involved a 13-minute descent through the atmosphere, during which the capsule was subjected to intense heat reaching around 2,760°C as it was enveloped in a plasma sheath that temporarily cut communications. Contact was restored as parachutes deployed, slowing the capsule before a gentle touchdown in calm seas.
NASA described the landing as a “textbook” success, with commentators calling it a “perfect bullseye splashdown” shortly after the spacecraft hit the water at around 17:00 local time (12:00 GMT).
Recovery teams quickly moved in to secure the capsule and extract the astronauts, who were then transferred for initial medical checks aboard a U.S. Navy vessel. They are expected to return to Houston on Saturday to reunite with their families.
The mission represents a critical test flight for NASA’s Artemis programme, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface later this decade and eventually establish a sustained presence on the Moon as a stepping stone to Mars.
Artemis II also marked several historic firsts, including record-breaking distance from Earth and milestone participation for Glover as the first Black astronaut on a lunar mission, Koch as the first woman, and Hansen as the first non-American in such a flight.
An unknown projectile struck a tanker 68 nautical miles northeast of Saudi Arabia on Friday according to a report released by the United Kingdom Ma...
Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy and water systems, combined with damaged homes and rising living costs, could force more people to flee t...
The AnewZ documentary “Counterpoint: Two Centuries of German-Azerbaijani Shared History” investigates the story of German settlers who ...
The U.S. has banned government employees working in Saudi Arabia from using airports in the country without special authorisation. It comes after a deadly Houthi strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed at least 13 people last week.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called it “a disgrace” that Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries. Attacks are continuing from Russia and Ukraine as media reports say Ukraine has almost run out of Patriot interceptor missiles.
Ukraine is set to restart attacks on Russian oil refineries following a two-day pause, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, amid growing tensions with Washington over energy strikes and U.S. military support.
An unknown projectile struck a tanker 68 nautical miles northeast of Saudi Arabia on Friday according to a report released by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on Saturday.
France is preparing for a fresh wave of nationwide demonstrations this weekend as rising living costs, education concerns and growing political tensions converge into one of the most significant protest movements seen in the country in recent years.
Satellite restrictions affecting Ukraine's military have put SpaceX's Starshield network under scrutiny, raising questions about who controls the technology and who can restrict its use during wartime.
More than three centuries after the dodo disappeared from Mauritius, efforts to bring the iconic bird back from extinction are taking a new step forward.
Hackers forced the temperature of fridges and freezers in hundreds of French supermarkets up to 50 degrees Celsius overnight, causing fires and food losses in what the Paris Prosecutor’s Office described as a “large-scale” attack.
A software engineer employed by OpenAI has been arrested and charged by U.S. authorities after investigators alleged he secretly placed a concealed recording device inside an executive conference room at the artificial intelligence company.
NASA's Perseverance rover has set a new driving record on Mars, travelling 45.2 kilometres since landing in 2021 and surpassing every other robotic vehicle to explore a world beyond Earth, the U.S. space agency said on Tuesday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment