Artemis II astronauts return safely to Earth after historic lunar mission

Washington. After a 10-day space journey orbiting the Moon, the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission have returned safely to Earth. Their Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday.

This was the first historic mission in over half a century to carry humans near the Moon and return them safely to Earth. NASA's gumdrop-shaped Orion capsule, named Integrity, descended into the ocean off the southern coast of California with the help of parachutes after 5 PM local time.