Artemis II astronauts safely back on Earth after historic trip around Moon

An elated NASA late on Friday was celebrating its successful voyage around the Moon, after four astronauts safely returned to Earth having completed the first lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

The NASA spacecraft carrying four astronauts — three Americans and one Canadian — splashed down without a hitch off the California coast, capping the US space agency's crewed test mission that returned with spectacular images of the Moon.

"What a journey," said mission commander Reid Wiseman, who reported that the crewmembers -- himself along with Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen -- were "stable" and "green."

"They're in great condition, that's what that means," said Rob Navias, the NASA public affairs official who narrated their return on the agency's livestream.

Lori Glaze (centre), acting associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, speaks next to NASA's associate administrator Amit Kshatriya (left) and NASA flight director Rick Henfling (right), during a press conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Friday, after the Artemis II astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. AFP

Following an expected but nerve-wracking communications blackout during their high-stakes re-entry, Wiseman's voice triggered relief that the astronauts were well on their way back home.

"We have you loud and clear," he said following a voice check from mission control in Houston.

NASA personnel and the US military helped extract the astronauts from the bobbing capsule -- to the applause of those watching from mission control.

By late Friday, helicopters had lifted the astronauts to a recovery ship off the Pacific coast near San Diego, where they all proved capable of walking unassisted.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, being assisted off the flight deck after arriving aboard USS John P. Murtha. AFP

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman called the voyage "a perfect mission."

"We're back in the business of sending astronauts to the Moon," he said, and "this is just the beginning."

'A great day'

As the astronauts returned to Earth their spacecraft reached maximum speeds more than 30 times the speed of sound, and faced searing temperatures around half as hot as the surface of the Sun.

It was a key test of their heat shield, which in an earlier trial uncrewed mission had faced complications that they attempted to mitigate this time around by shifting the return trajectory.

"If you didn't have anxiety bringing this spacecraft home, you probably didn't have a pulse," said flight director Rick Henfling.

But the Artemis II re-entry was smooth sailing.

The Orion capsule will now be painstakingly examined to assess how it fared.

US President Donald Trump praised the astronauts for their "spectacular" trip and said he "could not be more proud" -- while wasting no time in looking ahead to the eventual goal of sending missions even further into space.

"Next step, Mars!" he wrote on social media.

This video grab made from a NASA livestream shows Artemis II crewmembers (in orange suits) being extracted from their spacecraft after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, on Friday. AFP

Artemis II was the inaugural crewed mission of NASA's program aiming to install a sustained presence on the Moon, including the eventual construction of a base that could be used for further exploration including to Mars.

'Fresh confidence'

From liftoff to splashdown, the trip clocked in at nine days, one hour, 31 minutes and 35 seconds -- though NASA rounds up and calls it a 10-day mission.

It began with a dramatic launch from Florida on April 1, and was studded with firsts, records and extraordinary moments.

The four astronauts become the humans to travel furthest away from the Earth, at 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers).

While hurtling through deep space and zipping around the Moon they took thousands of photographs, amassing a stunning portfolio of images that captivated people on Earth.

They also witnessed a solar eclipse along with extraordinary meteorite strikes on the lunar surface.

Several achievements added to the voyage's historic nature: Glover was the first person of color to fly around the Moon, Koch was the first woman, and Canadian Hansen the first non-American.

Astronomer Derek Buzasi of the University of Chicago called the mission "an almost flawless success."

"I admit to having had my doubts about the Artemis program, but now I have fresh confidence in our next steps as we go back to the Moon to stay," he told AFP.

'Eye on the prize'

NASA is hoping it can put boots on the lunar surface as soon as 2028 -- the final full year of Trump's second White House term.

Experts, however, have voiced skepticism that the lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin, companies owned by billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos respectively, will be ready in time.

China, meanwhile, is forging ahead with its own effort targeting 2030 to put astronauts on the Moon.

In the meantime, NASA is hoping to capitalize on the Artemis II mission's success to drum up excitement about space exploration.

Clayton Swope, a space policy expert at of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told AFP that the mission stands as "proof that when America keeps its eye on the prize, it can still do very great things."

Agence France-Presse