CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) 鈥� The spacecraft that around the moon is back where its began.
NASA鈥檚 Artemis II capsule returned to Florida鈥檚 Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, almost a month after on humanity鈥檚 first lunar trip in more than a half-century.
Following its splashdown in the Pacific on April 10, the Orion capsule was trucked from San Diego to Cape Canaveral. Engineers will examine the capsule鈥檚 heat shield in more detail along with everything else in preparation for next year’s in orbit around Earth. The capsule’s electronic boxes will be removed and recycled, along with research equipment.
The capsule, dubbed Integrity by its U.S.-Canadian crew, carried astronauts than humans have ever traveled before. Aside from a , the capsule appeared to during the nearly 10-day voyage, according to NASA.
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen are finally getting a break after medical exams and other tests that followed their mission.
鈥淏een waiting for this moment,鈥� Wiseman said via X late last week, posting a video of himself relaxing on the beach. 鈥淭here is a lot in my head that I must process and very little has to do with leaving the planet. Today is my first step. I have never in my life felt peace like this.鈥�
Until Artemis II, astronauts had not flown to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Artemis III will feature a fresh capsule and crew. They will remain in orbit around Earth for docking exercises with lunar landers still in development by SpaceX and Blue Origin. That will set the stage for a moon landing by two new astronauts as early as 2028.
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