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NASA's Artemis II astronauts have returned safely to Earth after travelling for over 1,117,500 km in an historic lunar mission.
On Friday, April 11, the crew successfully completed a parachute landing in the Pacific Ocean after a high-speed re-entry through Earth's atmosphere.
The four astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, will now undergo medical checks before returning to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Kicked off on April 1, the 10-day journey from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre saw the crew travel across two Earth orbits and a climatic lunar flyby, making them the group of humans who have travelled the farthest into space.
Their mission was the first to the moon since the 1972 Apollo 17 mission, and their successful return marked a significant milestone for future voyages.
Notably, the return also included a brief communication blackout during re-entry, caused by intense heat building up around the spacecraft.
The landmark mission also marked several firsts, including Glover becoming the first person of colour to travel around the moon, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first non-American.
Moreover, recovery teams were off the coast of California, waiting to retrieve them after their arrival at 5:07pm Pacific time.
