“Houston, they’re back!”: NASA crew returns safely after historic moon flyby

A NASA spacecraft with four astronauts aboard successfully splashed down on Friday, concluding the agency's first crewed mission around the Moon in over fifty years and representing a major turning point for upcoming lunar landings.

Mission commander Reid Wiseman provided an update on the crew’s status shortly after re-entry, stating that all four astronauts were “stable” and “green,” indicating they were in excellent health after the rapid descent through Earth’s atmosphere.

“They’re in great condition; that’s what that means,” stated NASA public affairs officer Rob Navias during the agency’s livestream.

The return came after a short period of communication silence—a typical yet nerve-wracking stage of re-entry—before Wiseman's voice reconnected and confirmed a successful landing.

“We are once again engaged in the endeavor of sending astronauts to the Moon,” Wiseman stated. “We are only at the outset of this journey.”

The mission, designated Artemis II, featured Wiseman alongside pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. The crew embarked on a remarkable journey, covering over 200,000 miles from Earth. They orbited the Moon before making their way back home after an adventure that lasted just over nine days.

The flight took off from Florida on April 1 and is regarded as a key component of NASA’s larger Artemis initiative, which seeks to create a lasting human presence on the Moon and ultimately develop a lunar base.

Following their splashdown, the astronauts made their way to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, greeted warmly by family, officials, and NASA staff.

Wiseman recounted the striking transition from the vastness of deep space to the familiar surroundings of Earth in just a few hours. “Just a day ago, the Earth appeared as small as this basketball outside the window,” he remarked, pointing to the object in his hand. “And here we find ourselves, returning home.”

He highlighted the significant emotional impact on families throughout the mission. “The experiences of the families remain largely unknown,” he stated. “It was quite a challenge, being over 200,000 miles away from home.”

Glover described the experience as overwhelming. “I haven’t fully grasped what just happened,” he remarked. “The appreciation for witnessing what we experienced… it’s far too immense to be contained within a single individual.”

Koch emphasized the crew's connection, portraying it as more profound than mere collaboration. “A crew is inescapably, beautifully, dutifully linked,” she remarked, emphasizing that witnessing Earth from space highlighted its fragility: “Earth was just this lifeboat hanging… in the universe.”

NASA officials have announced that this mission sets the stage for a potential lunar landing as soon as 2028, with an increase in mission frequency anticipated in the years ahead.