Emotional Artemis II homecoming: Crew welcomed with tears and hugs

As the Orion spacecraft completed its 10-day tour around the Earth’s satellite, it was time for a splashdown. On Friday, April 10, 2026, the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, California, was a busy site. Immediately, the US military, alongside NASA’s Landing and Recovery team, jumped into extracting the members from inside the spacecraft. In the picture, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Pilot Victor Glover, and Commander Reid Wiseman from NASA, with the Canadian Space Agency Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, could be seen aboard an inflatable raft. They were then airlifted to safety on a recovery ship. 

Floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean can never feel so exciting. This picture captures the exact moment when Mission Specialist Christina Koch and Pilot Victor Glover from NASA, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), and Commander Reid Wiseman from NASA (left to right) were rescued from the Orion spacecraft following its splashdown near San Diego, California, at 5:07 PM PDT (8:07 PM EDT). Named as the front porch, the safety inflatable raft was then taken to the USS John P. Murtha for a routine medical checkup.

After a 10-day-long trip to the moon and back, the crew landed on the Pacific Ocean at exactly 8:07 p.m. EDT (5:07 p.m. PDT). Following the splashdown in the waters of the Pacific near California, the crew was taken out of the Orion. Artemis II mission specialist CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, and Artemis II commander NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, clicked immediately after their return from the cosmic wilderness. 

In this image, they can be spotted sitting on a Navy MH-60 Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after the crew was hoisted by U.S. Navy helicopters and flown to the helipad of the USS John P. Murtha recovery ship. Alongside Hansen and Wiseman, the other two crew members, Christina Koch and Victor Glover, also reached the recovery ship with the help of the US Naval Team.

Doing a trip around the moon is not your daily visit to Walmart. Thus, the entire Artemis II crew depended on NASA astronaut Victor Glover to pilot the spacecraft safely around the moon for 10 days and back to the Green Planet. And while Glover passed the test in flying colors, fellow NASA astronaut and mission specialist Christina Koch decided to pose with her pilot. The picture was taken from a helicopter sea combat squadron (HSC) 23 while the duo sat on a Navy MH-60 Seahawk.

It is always good to come back home. Especially after spending some significant time in outer space. Thus, when the Artemis II crew splashed down with the Orion Spacecraft in the well deck of USS John P. Murtha on April 11, 2026, they were elated. But before they bid their spacecraft a final goodbye, mission specialist Christina Koch, Artemis II pilot, NASA astronaut Victor Glover, CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman did not forget to frame their time together in space with a heartwarming photograph.

NASA’s Landing and Recovery team, along with the U.S. Navy, recovered the Orion and securely brought it to the deck of USS John P. Murtha in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Saturday, April 11, 2026. After the splashdown, the crew members were taken out and airlifted directly from the Pacific Ocean to the vessel for immediate medical evaluation. 

For the 10 consecutive days, as the four astronauts navigated in the cosmos, the Orion Spacecraft turned out to be their shelter and home. And after they landed safely on their home planet, the crew waved a last goodbye to the vehicle that safely took them to the moon and brought them back to their loved ones. In this picture, mission specialist Christina Koch hugged the spacecraft at the deck of USS John P. Murtha

deck of USS John P. Murtha.

The Artemis II mission was one of the most important ones for NASA. While the primary aim of the mission around the moon was for scientific discovery and economic development, there was also an ulterior motive. This mission laid the foundation for the belief that NASA could carry out a first-ever crewed mission to the Martian lands. Thus, when the mission ended successfully, celebrations were bound to follow. As the astronauts landed at Ellington Field, they were swarmed by congratulatory messages. The picture shows Reid Wiseman engaging in a warm gesture. 

The Chief of the Astronaut Office, Scott Tingle, meeting Artemis II pilot, NASA astronaut Victor Glover (L), and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch (R), after their successful and safe journey back to Earth, embraced them in a tight hug. Such a heartwarming moment was captured when they met next to a Navy MH-60 Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha.  The crew was extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown on Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.