The four astronauts who left Florida’s Kennedy Space Center 10 days ago are back. They touched down at the US Californian coast yesterday, on schedule, on the evening of April 10th, 2026, Eastern Time (ET).
Accomplishments
During their stay in space, the four astronauts, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen, successfully went around the circumference of the moon and, in total, covered the longest distance from Earth ever recorded.
When the astronauts landed, they were as excited as the people waiting to meet them, and the mission commander, Reid Weisman, remarked, “What a journey”! He also gave an assurance that the four of them were in great shape, giving themselves the description, “green crew members”.
Appreciation of the Astronauts
The astronauts of Artemis II knew they were much appreciated. Besides keeping in touch with the space station to relay vital information, they also had opportunities to communicate with their loved ones. They were able to communicate via video call on their 3rd and 4th days in space, and just before their return to Earth.
Also, toward the end of their trip back, members of Congress sent them congratulatory messages, and a select few fielded questions.
Viewers could see the happy crew take turns to answer the questions, and their demeanor was reassuring. It helped shed any anxiety one might have about being in a space capsule inside and beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.
Distance Covered
The Artemis II covered 406,771 kilometers, the equivalent of 252,756 miles. This is a longer distance than the one that John Swigert (Jack), James Lovell, and Fred Haise covered aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft in 1970.
Apollo 13 covered 400,171 kilometers (248,655 miles), although several of those kilometers were traveled as the crew sought ways to survive the impact of a failed oxygen tank.
Success of Artemis II
The Artemis II crew was able to disseminate information to Earth in real time, and much of it will be useful in preparing for future space adventures.
A big part of the mission’s success can be attributed to lessons learned from past space missions. For example, although the Apollo 13 mission was cut short due to power and life-support issues, scientists drew valuable lessons from it.
This time, the Orion spacecraft did not have any major technical issues like the one Apollo 13 had, with an exploded oxygen tank. Hence, Artemis II has accomplished its mission.