Artemis two splashdown off San Diego as moon farers make history as furthest humans ever from Earth
發佈日期: 2026-04-11 20:38
TVB News
NASA's Artemis II has safety returned to Earth after a trip to the moon.
The journey home for the astronauts began with NASA's Integrity crew module separating from the service module with mission control at Johnson Space Centre looking on.
NASA's Orion capsule seen descending towards the Pacific Ocean off the San Diego coast. Then splashdown.
The triumphant moon-farers - commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen emerged from their bobbing inflatable raft that was docked to the capsule.
A helicopter then hoisted the astronauts one by one from the raft for a short trip to a waiting U.S. Navy recovery ship, the USS John P. Murtha.
Watching the splashdown - Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator. "Can't believe what I just saw. I mean, I almost been waiting my whole lifetime to see, to see this. And then, NASA administrator, I just couldn't be more proud of the entire workforce. The years, the effort, the late nights, all the hard work from across the country that contributed to this incredible moment, right now. And, yeah, incredibly grateful too, for our teams here, on the John Murtha right now."
Watch parties too in San Diego cheering the astronauts as they returned.
Spectator Carolyn Powell said: "This is a history making moment for me and for all kids to know that you can do whatever you want to do. Let nothing stop you. This is history."
And spectator George Ray said: "I started out and working on the programme in 1962. I've seen a lot of launches. I just in fact, I just saw the Artemis two launch in Florida. Came back to see it land here in San Diego."
Artemis ll didn't land on the moon or even orbit it. But it broke Apollo 13's distance record, making Reid Wiseman and his crew the farthest that humans have ever journeyed from Earth when they reached 406,771 km.
Then in the mission's most heart-tugging scene the teary astronauts asked permission to name a pair of craters after their moonship and Wiseman's late wife Carol.
