NASA’s Artemis II capsule returns after historic Moon mission

The Orion capsule, which successfully completed Artemis II—the first crewed mission sent to the Moon by NASA in more than 50 years—has been returned to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it was originally launched.

According to a statement on NASA’s website, the capsule carrying commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen has been taken in for detailed inspection, CE Report quotes Anadolu Agency.

As part of this process, all components of the capsule—especially its heat shield—will be thoroughly examined by technicians, while its electronic systems will be dismantled and flight data analyzed.

The Artemis II crew completed their 10-day lunar mission and returned to Earth.

The Orion capsule was launched on April 1 from the Kennedy Space Center as part of the Artemis II mission.

During the 10-day mission around the Earth and the Moon, the crew traveled nearly 1.118 million kilometers and captured images of previously unseen parts of the Moon.

The Orion capsule successfully completed its return to Earth on April 11 without any issues.