Artemis II Crew Returns to Earth After Record-Breaking Moon Mission

The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis II mission received an emotional welcome home on Saturday. They arrived at Ellington Field in Texas, near NASA's Johnson Space Centre. The crew had splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego the previous evening. Their mission set a new record for the farthest human travel beyond the far side of the Moon. Hundreds of NASA employees and families greeted them with loud cheers. The astronauts briefly reunited with their spouses and children before addressing the crowd. Artemis II was the first crewed mission in NASA's program to return humans to the Moon. The successful journey is a critical step toward landing astronauts on the lunar surface again.