Artemis crew home safely after completing historic mission to the Moon

Artemis crew home safely after greatest journey in a generation16 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GooglePallab Ghosh,Science CorrespondentandAlison Francis,Senior Science JournalistReutersVictor Glover and Christina Koch pictured after the crew's successful return to EarthThe four astronauts who flew in Nasa's Artemis II mission around the Moon have splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean after a flawless return. The crew are now safely aboard a waiting ship and recovering from a nine-day voyage that took them further from Earth than any humans in history. Their Orion spacecraft was travelling at more than 24,000mph (38,600km/h) when it hit the Earth's upper atmosphere and its heatshield was subjected to temperatures half as hot as found on the surface of the Sun.Their safe return clears the way for the next stage of the Artemis programme, which aims to land humans on the lunar surface and eventually build a permanent base on the Moon.The extreme heat meant the capsule, which the astronauts named Integrity, lost contact with mission control in Houston for six minutes during the descent. There were cheers when Commander Reid Wiseman's voice was heard saying: "Houston, Integrity here. We hear you loud and clear." The mission's moment of maximum jeopardy had passed, and soon the spacecraft's red-and-white parachutes opened and sent the capsule sailing majestically through the sky."Good main chutes!" the Nasa commentary enthused repeatedly, until the capsule hit the ocean for a perfect splashdown."A perfect bull's eye splashdown for Integrity and its four astronauts," Nasa commentator Rob Navias said moments after the landing.Getty ImagesThe astronauts - Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen - were carefully extracted from the capsule and taken by helicopter to the USS John P Murtha, where they will undergo medical evaluations.Nasa sa...