Artemis II Mission Concludes Successfully: Key Findings from NASA's Historic Moon Flyby

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 19:26:00 +0200

NASA's Artemis II mission has successfully concluded after a 10-day journey that sent four astronauts on a record-breaking flyby of the Moon. The Orion spacecraft, carrying NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off California's coast at 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman called it a 'mission well accomplished.'

The mission provided unprecedented images of the Moon and a rare solar eclipse view from space. However, several technical issues emerged during the test flight. The toilet system experienced wastewater venting problems, occasionally becoming unusable. Faulty sensors triggered warning messages, and most concerning was a leak in Orion's service module propulsion system that worsened during the translunar injection burn, requiring an extensive valve system redesign for future flights.

Despite challenges, the public was captivated by life inside the capsule through 3