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WATCH LIVE: Artemis II astronauts return to Earth
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The Artemis II astronauts share a group hug aboard the Orion capsule.
But, he said, it's also a necessary one.
Nell Greenfieldboyce and Central Florida Public Media's Brendan Byrne contributed to this report.
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− By
Amina Khan
After a nearly 10-day journey that took the Artemis II astronauts around the moon, in front of an eclipse and farther away from Earth than any humans before them, the NASA mission is about to make a dramatic return home.
+ By
Amina Khan
After a nearly 10-day journey that took the Artemis II astronauts around the moon, in front of an eclipse and farther away from Earth than any humans before them, the crew of four have made a dramatic return home.
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Science Artemis II astronauts have just one task ahead of them today: Return home The crew's Orion space capsule is set to enter the atmosphere at 7:53 p.m.
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NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen were ensconced in the Orion space capsule when they dropped into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 p.m.
− ET and splash down less than a quarter-hour later, at 8:07 p.m., off the coast of San Diego.
+ Friday. The USS John P. Murtha is stationed near the splashdown zone to help recover the crew.
− In that short time, the space capsule will have to slow down from nearly 25,000 miles per hour — or more than 30 times the speed of sound — to a gentle 20 or so mph before dropping into the Pacific Ocean.
+ Science Artemis II astronauts have just one task ahead of them today: Return home To get back to Earth, the space capsule had to withstand predicted temperatures of about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit and slow down from nearly 25,000 miles per hour — or more than 30 times the speed of sound — to a gentle 19 mph or so before splashdown.
− Science We can't all be astronauts, but the Artemis II crew has fitness lessons for everyone As it punches though Earth's atmosphere, the spacecraft will likely experience temperatures around 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
+ The roughly 13-minute journey from the top of the atmosphere to the surface is like "riding a fireball through the atmosphere," NASA astronaut and Artemis II crew member Victor Glover said before the maneuver.
− And for about six minutes during reentry, as plasma builds up around the vehicle, the capsule's communications will be cut off.
The journey to Earth is like "riding a fireball through the atmosphere," NASA astronaut and Artemis II crew member Victor Glover said before the maneuver.
− "We have to get back," Glover said.
+ Science We can't all be astronauts, but the Artemis II crew has fitness lessons for everyone "We have to get back," Glover said.
− "There's so much data that you've seen already, but all the good stuff is coming back with us."
Glover, along with fellow NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, took photos and made observations of the moon as they passed over its surface April 6.
+ "There's so much data that you've seen already, but all the good stuff is coming back with us."
The crew of four, who looped around the far side of the moon on Monday April 6, took photos and made observations as they passed over the lunar surface.
− The crew will be bringing that data and more back to the team on the ground — data that may offer crucial insights ahead of the Artemis III mission, set to launch as early as next year.
+ The crew is set to bring that data and more back to the team on the ground.