Artemis II Mission Officially Ends, Astronauts Land Safely on Earth

Transport of the Artemis II astronauts in the Pacific Ocean (photo: doc. NASA)

JAKARTA - The astronauts of the Artemis II mission have returned to Earth after completing a world-record-breaking space journey. The plane carrying the astronauts has landed safely.

The capsule, named Orion, reportedly landed with the help of a parachute in the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, April 11 at around 07.07 WIB. The process of returning to Earth began at an altitude of 400,000 feet at 35 times the speed of sound.

During the descent process, Orion experienced a six-minute communication blackout due to the formation of plasma around the capsule. After that, Orion's parachute system worked gradually starting at an altitude of 23,400 feet to slow the vehicle.

On the last descent, three main parachutes were deployed to ensure a smooth landing in the water off the coast of San Diego. The four crew members on board the plane were finally able to land without any interference.

The four crew members involved in this mission are NASA Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Over ten days, they traveled a total distance of nearly 700,000 miles and surpassed the record for the farthest distance ever traveled by humans.

"Artemis II demonstrated incredible skill, courage, and dedication as the crew pushed Orion, SLS, and human exploration further than ever before," said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.

During their stay near the Moon, the astronauts managed to capture more than 7,000 images of the lunar surface and solar eclipse phenomena. They also documented the topography along the terminator line to help prepare for landing at the South Pole of the Moon through the Artemis IV mission.

After the landing was successful, the US Navy helicopter then took the four astronauts to the USS John P. Murtha. Next, the medical team evaluated the health conditions of the astronauts before they were flown back to Houston.

The Orion vehicle was then pulled by a rope to the ship's deck by Navy divers. The aircraft will be taken back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a thorough inspection and data retrieval.

All the results of the Artemis II study are expected to advance mission operations and help future astronauts conduct exploration on the Moon. NASA is also focusing on plans to build a base on the Moon so that humans can live there sustainably.