The crew aboard the Orion capsule are now officially Earthbound after successfully completing their flyby of the Moon.
The Artemis II mission saw four astronauts, NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, embark on a trip to the Moon.
This mission has marked the first time humans have ventured to the lunar rock in over 50 years following the end of the Apollo programme.
With the team expected to splashdown back on Earth on Friday (April 10), it has now been revealed that they will be retrieved by helicopters for an immediate medical evaluation upon arrival.
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On the NASA website, it details how the crew are scheduled to land just off the coast of San Diego just after 8pm on Friday.
Following their splashdown, the astronauts will be picked up by helicopters to take them to the USS John P. Murtha where they will ‘undergo post-mission medical evaluations in the ship’s medical bay before traveling back to shore to meet with an aircraft bound for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston’.
What is the purpose of the Artemis II mission to the Moon?
While the astronauts did not land on the Moon, they did perform a flyby as part of the first human test flight of the Orion capsule.
According to NASA, the team are performing ‘a series of planned tests to evaluate systems, procedures, and performance in deep space’.
The space agency continued: “They will conduct manual spacecraft operations and monitor automated activities; evaluate Orion’s life-support, propulsion, power, thermal, and navigation systems; perform proximity operations activities; assess habitability and crew interfaces; and participate in science activities, including lunar surface observations and human health studies, that will inform science operations on future Moon missions.
“They also will practice mission-critical activities, including trajectory adjustments, communications at lunar distances, and piloting Orion during key phases of flight, culminating in a re-entry and splashdown to further validate the spacecraft’s performance with crew aboard.”
The team also broke the record for the furthest distance traveled in space by humans.
This was previously set by the Apollo 13 crew who went as far as 248,655 miles away from Earth, but now Artemis II has beaten them after their capsule reached the 252,756-mile mark.
While the crew didn’t land on the Moon, we could see humans back on the lunar surface as early as 2027 with the upcoming Artemis III mission.