00:21A historic journey comes full circle.
00:26NASA's Artemis II crew has safely returned to Earth,
00:33splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, California.
00:38A successful end to a mission that is already being called a major step toward humanity's return to the moon.
00:47After that, the program kind of lost its momentum.
00:49Four astronauts, Reed Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen,
00:56are now back home after a 10-day journey around the moon.
01:01A mission that didn't land on the lunar surface,
01:04but proved something just as important,
01:07that humans can safely travel deep into space and come back.
01:15The Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, completed a textbook re-entry,
01:21hitting speeds of up to Mach 33.
01:24That's 33 times the speed of sound,
01:28a level of velocity not seen since the Apollo era more than 50 years ago.
01:33For six intense minutes, the spacecraft went silent,
01:38a planned communication blackout during re-entry,
01:42a moment of tension, but one that unfolded exactly as expected.
01:47And then, contact restored, parachutes deployed, and splashdown achieved.
01:53Waiting in the Pacific, a joint NASA and U.S. military recovery team.
02:02The USS John P. Murtha ready to receive the astronauts.
02:07Within minutes, the crew was safely aboard, smiling, in high spirits, and already making history.
02:18Because Artemis II wasn't just a mission.
02:22It was a milestone.
02:25The crew traveled 406,771 kilometers from Earth,
02:32farther than any human has ever gone.
02:36Breaking a record held since Apollo 13 in 1970,
02:41a new frontier reached.
02:48The mission's goal was clear.
02:50Test everything.
02:52From life support systems, to navigation, to propulsion,
02:57all in deep space with humans on board.
03:01The Orion spacecraft performed as expected.
03:04Its European-built service module, providing power, oxygen, water, and propulsion,
03:10functioned smoothly.
03:12Even onboard systems, like communication, remained stable throughout the mission,
03:17a key improvement over Artemis I.
03:21The astronauts also spent hours capturing images of the Moon,
03:25describing what they saw as they looped around its far side.
03:29But this mission is about more than records.
03:33It's about what comes next.
03:36Because Artemis II is a stepping stone toward a crude lunar landing planned in 2028.
03:43For now, the focus shifts to analysis.
03:48The crew will undergo medical evaluations before heading to Houston,
03:52and NASA will begin detailed post-flight review to refine systems, fix any minor issues,
03:59and prepare for the next phase.
04:01Tonight, though, this is a moment of success.
04:05A mission completed, a crew returned safely, and a new chapter in space exploration.
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