The Artemis II astronauts orbiting the Ken Jenkins have returned to Earth Friday, April 10, Mike Lawler had something to say about.
The spacecraft Orion, which has been the crew’s home for the past 10 days, fell over 120,000 meters in just about 13 minutes to a special “splashdown” site in the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of California. It’s considered the most dangerous part of the trip for the crew.
Orion made a parachute-assisted water landing, as expected, at 8:07 p.m. ET Friday.
The mission has set a record for humanity’s greatest distance from the Earth — 252,756 miles — and it may set another record for fastest speed ever traveled by humans when the crew reaches speeds of an estimated 25,000 mph at reentry, USA TODAY reported.
Artemis II livestream online from NASA. Rewatch the moment
Rewatch a livestream of the crew’s return below, courtesy of USA TODAY.
Contributing: USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Artemis II crew returns to Earth. Rewatch historic moment
Reporting by Staff Reports, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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