«We are going to stay,” an emotional Isaacman expressed, who went to accompany the rescue of the astronauts in the Pacific. “We are going to master the skills on the lunar surface so that one day we can undertake missions to Mars. NASA stated that it will now analyze the abundant graphic material collected and the observations made, which will serve as a basis to guide future Artemis missions. The Artemis II crew capsule, which orbited the Moon, splashed down this Friday near the coast of San Diego (California) with the help of parachutes to reduce the speed of a free fall. During the expedition, Wiseman starred in one of the most emotional moments when his colleagues baptized a lunar crater ‘Carroll’ observed by humans for the first time, in honor of his late wife. A jar of Nutella—sweet hazelnut and cocoa cream—floating during the live transmission, along with the clogged toilet and bad smells the astronauts had to endure, marked the funniest and most unpleasant moments of the mission. The astronauts concluded this Friday a journey with significant risks, from the launch—which could have compromised the rest of the operation—to the re-entry, especially since it was the first crew test of the Artemis II thermal shield. This shield managed to protect the crew from the high temperatures generated by friction during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, which were estimated from 1,650 degrees Celsius (3,000 Fahrenheit) to about 2,760 degrees Celsius (5,000 Fahrenheit). This heat was generated upon entering Earth's atmosphere at a speed close to 40,000 kilometers per hour (about 24,661 miles per hour), with a deceleration that reached up to four times the force of gravity. The recovery of the astronauts was carried out by the US armed forces and NASA personnel, who transferred them to an inflatable platform. From there, their evacuation by helicopter and transfer to the infirmary of a ship were planned, where they will continue with medical evaluations before being transferred to land for additional exams. “We are returning to the Moon. Artemis II successfully concluded this Friday its mission to once again take humans to lunar orbit for the first time since 1972, with the exit of the Orion capsule's four astronauts, in apparent good condition and to applause from the control center in Houston, after ten historic days and no major incidents. “The United States has sent astronauts back to the Moon and brought them back safely,” Isaacman, NASA administrator, expressed after the splashdown regarding this test mission of the powerful SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft. Good weather accompanied the most diverse crew to reach lunar orbit last Monday after a smooth launch on April 1 from Cape Canaveral (Florida), conditions that were repeated this Friday in the Pacific, off the coast of San Diego (California), where the capsule plunged. Victorious, the first woman to orbit the Moon, Christina Koch; the first African American, Victor Glover; and the first non-American to accompany a NASA mission, the Canadian Jeremy Hansen, arrived on Earth. NASA Commander Reid Wiseman completed this mission, which ends with a host of historical milestones achieved and will give a boost to the next Artemis Program missions, which aims to land on the Moon twice in 2028, as well as orbit Earth in 2027, while the US space agency simultaneously advances plans to build a base on the Moon. Images of the operation to transfer the crew from the Orion spacecraft after its splashdown in the Pacific, off the coast of San Diego (California). The Artemis II mission returned from its journey to lunar orbit. It's an incredibly exciting moment. And we are not alone: we are carrying everyone with us,” Isaacman added.
