'Welcome home, Artemis': Crew celebrates historic 10-day moon mission
After their historic lunar flyby, the crew safely splashed down in the Pacific.
NASA's Artemis II mission lifted off on April 1 at 6:35 p.m. ET from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The four-person crew completed a 695,081-mile, 10-day journey around the moon, also known as a lunar fly-by.
A "textbook" splashdown took place at 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday, April 10.
Key Headlines
- Crew makes 1st appearance since return from historic mission
- 'Welcome home, Artemis': Jubilant and emotional, crew speaks out on historic moon mission
- Trump says he will welcome Artemis II crew to White House 'soon'
- NASA officials hail 'new era' of space exploration after successful mission
- Crew members hoisted into helicopters
- All 4 crew members out of the capsule
NASA troubleshooting Artemis II issue
NASA is troubleshooting an issue with the flight termination system (FTS), a critical safety component.
The FTS is designed to safely stop the rocket if it veers off its planned path, to protect people or property on the ground.
To help fix the issue, the team is bringing in a piece of hardware that was originally used on Space Shuttle missions.
-ABC News' Matthew Glasser and Briana Alvarado
Hatch seal check completed on Orion spacecraft
The closeout crew has completed its hatch seal check for the Orion crew module's side hatch, which allows them to watch for any loss of pressure over time or making sure the door is completely airtight.
Engineers are focusing on conducting a full cabin leak check before moving forward with closing the second hatch on the Orion spacecraft, which is the Launch Abort System hatch.
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado
1 of 2 hatches closed on Orion spacecraft
The closeout crew has now closed the side hatch, one of two hatches on the Orion crew module. The remaining hatch that the team is working to close is the Launch Abort System hatch.
This comes after the space agency confirmed that the spacesuits of all four astronauts passed their leak checks while in the Orion module, which once again tested the suits' pressure, ensuring they are airtight.
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado
Artemis II astronauts enter Orion crew module
With the help of their closeout crew, the Artemis II astronauts have entered the Orion crew module, which they named "Integrity."
This mission will be the first time humans travel into space on Orion.
Artemis II will be a crucial step in testing the systems on the spacecraft for future deep space missions back to the moon.
-ABC News' Briana Alvarado