integrity The Orion spacecraft looked like a blazing ball of fire as it and the four brave souls inside it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere. After six excruciating minutes, the plasma around the capsule dissipated, and the planned communications blackout ended, allowing contact between mission control and the crew to be restored.
At an altitude of 22,000 feet (6,706 m), drogue parachutes deployed, slowing and stabilizing the capsule. The dragoons were then released at 6,000 feet (1,829 m), and the three main parachutes deployed. This reduced Integrity’s speed to less than 136 mph (219 kph). At the point of atmospheric entry, the capsule was falling at approximately 23,864 mph (38,405 kph) – more than 30 times faster than the speed of sound.
After slowing to only 20 mph (32 kph), Integrity plunged into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California at 8:07 p.m. ET. This marked the end of the Artemis 2 crew’s 694,481-mile (1,117,659-km) journey to the far side of the Moon and back again.
Within the next few hours, NASA and U.S. military recovery teams will extract the astronauts—NASA’s Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen—from the capsule and transport them by helicopter to the U.S.S. John P. Murtha. Once onboard, they will undergo post-mission medical evaluation. Finally, they will return to shore and fly to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
a surprise success
The safe return of this mission is a major milestone for NASA’s Artemis program. Artemis 2 was the first crewed test flight of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, and both vehicles passed with flying colors. After a surprisingly smooth launch on April 1, Integrity separated from the SLS and set a course for the Moon. It was the first crewed spacecraft to leave Earth orbit in more than half a century.
After reaching the Moon on April 7, the Artemis 2 astronauts broke the record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth. That record was set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970 at 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) from our home planet. As Integrity flew around the far side of the moon, the crew observed and photographed parts of the surface that humans had never seen. The pictures they sent to Earth over the last 10 days are truly extraordinary.
Once Integrity emerged from behind the Moon, it began the long journey home. The spacecraft took about three days to fly 252,756 miles (406,771 km) in cislunar space and reach our planet today. Atmospheric reentry was by far the most dangerous part of the mission, so it was a huge relief to see it integrity Sprinkle in one piece.
The success of Artemis 2 laid the foundation for a Moon landing, continued lunar presence, and eventually a crewed mission to Mars. Perhaps more importantly, the mission showcased humanity at its best—and not just because of its technological achievements. The crew created priceless moments of camaraderie, humility and reverence throughout their adventure. Looking down upon Earth from far away, these astronauts remind us that we are all connected at a time when our world can feel torn apart.
If you’ve been following Gizmodo since launch day, thank you. Until next time, Ad Astra!
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