World News : In a historic achievement, NASA has successfully completed the Artemis II mission. After a 10-day journey in space, the Orion capsule safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, marking humanity’s return to deep space exploration near the Moon after nearly five decades.
The mission carried four astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—who traveled approximately 1.116 million kilometers. They flew around the far side of the Moon and reached a maximum distance of 406,771 kilometers from Earth, setting a new record.
During re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, the Orion capsule reached speeds of around 39,000 km/h, with external temperatures soaring to nearly 2,760°C due to intense friction. Following a successful splashdown, recovery teams from the U.S. Navy safely retrieved the crew.
This mission is particularly significant as it marks the first time a woman, a Black astronaut, and a non-American citizen have traveled to the Moon’s vicinity, highlighting a new era of inclusivity in space exploration.
Launched on April 1 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, Artemis II was NASA’s first crewed test flight under the Artemis program. The astronauts orbited Earth twice before heading toward the Moon, passing close to its far side—the region not visible from Earth.
The mission surpassed the previous distance record set during Apollo 13, further demonstrating advancements in space technology.
The success of Artemis II paves the way for Artemis III, which aims to land humans on the Moon by 2028 and eventually support future missions to Mars.
