Artemis II Astronauts Aboard USS John P. Murtha

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The first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century are back on Earth after a record-setting mission aboardNASA’s Artemis IItest flight.

NASA astronautsReid Wiseman,Christina Koch,Victor Glover, and CSA astronautJeremy Hansen pose for a group photo in the well deck of the USS John P. Murtha after inspecting the Orion spacecraft on Saturday, April 11, 2026.

The crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Friday, April 10, at 5:07 p.m. PDT, marking the completion of theirArtemis II mission.

After splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, the astronauts were met by a combined NASA and U.S. military team that assisted them out of the spacecraft in open water and transported them via helicopter to the USS John P. Murtha for initial medical checkouts.

Artemis II is the first crewed flight aboard NASA’s human deep space capabilities, paving the way for future lunar surface missions.