San Francisco Frontiers - Artemis II astronauts return to Earth, capping historic Moon mission

Mission commander Reid Wiseman 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.

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

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

NASA and the US military will now help them leave the bobbing capsule, after which they will be flown to a recovery ship off the Pacific coast near San Diego.

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 mission had faced complications.

But the Artemis II re-entry went off without a hitch.

"This was a textbook entry and a textbook touchdown," said Navias.

- Historic journey -

The approximately 10-day mission that began with a dramatic launch from Florida on April 1 was studded with firsts, records and extraordinary moments.

It was considered a key stepping stone towards eventual crewed lunar landings.

It was the first crewed mission of NASA's program aiming to install a sustained presence on the Moon, including the eventual construction of a base.

The second phase of the Artemis program was a test mission to verify the reliability of the Orion capsule, which before now had not carried humans.

The voyage also broke a record: 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 the astronauts 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 that had left NASA scientists awe-struck.

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.

- Vital heat shield -

The Orion capsule passed a key test: the re-entry stakes were particularly high given concerns that arose during Artemis I, when an uncrewed 2022 test flight to the Moon and back saw a crucial heat shield erode in unexpected ways.

To minimize risks this time around, NASA shifted the re-entry path they had used in the test mission, after determining it had played a role in the complications.

The astronauts returned at a steeper and thus shorter trajectory, which NASA officials in discussion with the astronauts concluded would reduce risk to an acceptable degree.

Still, the heat shield situation prompted uneasy comparisons to the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters of 1986 and 2003 respectively, when astronauts died after warning signs were set aside.

But to the relief of NASA, the astronauts and their families along with the public at large, Artemis II completed a successful return.

Loved ones were watching the journey home from mission control in Houston, where the astronauts are due to reunite with their families, likely this weekend.

N.Wilson--SFF