NASA's Artemis II crew capsule has successfully landed back on Earth
Posted by RoyalChris@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 191 comments
Posted by RoyalChris@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 191 comments
Secret_Account07@reddit
I feel really silly but I totally thought they were landing on the moon. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago I learned the truth.
What a damn shame
rsta223@reddit
Eh, it's the same as last time. Apollo orbited the moon before landing too.
Secret_Account07@reddit
No I get it.
Shame isn’t the right word. I meant disappointed. I really wanted high def videos and pictures of the moon. Not ones from almost 60 years ago lol
KristnSchaalisahorse@reddit
This was the first crewed flight of the spacecraft (Orion). It was a critical test of its systems in advance of a future landing mission. They would never go for a landing on the first flight.
Aside from that, a landing vehicle is still being built and also needs to be tested before
ZealousidealGrab1827@reddit
So freaking cool.
Signed, a kid who watched Apollo missions launch.
stormdraggy@reddit
We're going back the the fucking moon!
RoyalChris@reddit (OP)
The crazy scale, complexity and magnitude of this mission. So relieved and pumped for next time with how well that went.
When is the next planned mission?
THIKKEMA@reddit
April 2027 Artemis III
quesoandcats@reddit
Holy cow that soon? Hell yes
aflyingsquanch@reddit
"Soon"
To put that projected 1 year turnaround into perspective:
Dec 1968: Apollo 8 orbits the moon.
Mar 1969: Apollo 9 tests LM in Earth Orbit.
May 1969: Apollo 10 takes LM to within 15km of the Moon.
Jul 1969: Apollo 11 lands on Moon.
Nov 1969: Apollo 12 lands on Moon for 2nd time.
quesoandcats@reddit
Sure, and NASA had like 4 percent of the annual budget's worth of funding, now they do not. It took nearly three and a half years between artemis I and II. A 12 month turnaround is a huge improvement
testfire10@reddit
To add some additional info, that 4% is about 16x the current NASA budget
friendlyharrys@reddit
Is that adjusted for inflation?
testfire10@reddit
It’s just as a percentage of the national budget, so it’s purely in terms relative to how much the federal government spent on nasa back in the Apollo days compared to now. It just shows how, as a society, we’ve lost interest in NASA’s goals.
atomatoflame@reddit
Our government also spends a lot more overall now compared to GDP versus the 60s. A percentage of budget number may not be the best way to compare budgets.
testfire10@reddit
That’s true. However, as a society, the US votes on what we spend money on as a nation, and over time, the percentage of the total budge we dump into NASA has continually declined. Even if funding has stayed relatively constant (which it has) for NASA, it still means an outsized (and ever increasing) portion is going to things like entitlement spending and defense.
Either way, during the Apollo years, the nasa budget was something like 3-4 times today’s in inflation adjusted dollars.
atomatoflame@reddit
All good points. I don't think anyone would win on a slogan "Cut SS, Medicare, and the Pentagon; let's go to the Moon!" It would be nice if we didn't have to spend so much on interest payments and could increase science spending from that, but reducing our debt in the short-term is a pipe dream. They definitely spent more for Apollo and they were also more efficient with those dollars, like most projects, back in the day.
quesoandcats@reddit
Excellent point, thank you!
Digger_Pine@reddit
When I was young, about 40% of my budget went to food, now it's about 10%.
Am I eating less?
ywgflyer@reddit
They were also willing to take a lot more risk in order to beat the Russians to it. Those missions all had a pretty appreciable chance that the crew might die. Now that there's no space race, they aren't gonna play fast and loose with safety, if something comes up that means a huge delay, there will be a huge delay.
ZealousidealGrab1827@reddit
Pretty amazing. I am most excited about seeing a younger generation so excited about space. I used to build Apollo rockets out of cardboard rolls and cheap paint. Still having goosebumps watching this.
imaguitarhero24@reddit
Mid 2027
AlarmDozer@reddit
But what about landing/splash down? That's the real cliffhanger.
OldStromer@reddit
Agreed. Mercury watching kid here.
DecentFlakyHeart@reddit
Same energy here. Seeing those chutes out cleanly was ridiculously satisfying.
ZealousidealGrab1827@reddit
Amazing, right?
KeyTarget9630@reddit
I'm so freaking hype they reoribited. This is so friggin cool. Rocket science is so insane. The orbit path working is wild. Like there's no excess velocity making you off path, you actually used the trig to return back to earth? Are you friggin kidding me. Fail me for physics 2. I didn't deserve to pass, this is what we can achieve! Let's go.
taint_tattoo@reddit
What rating is required for this aircraft?
discographyA@reddit
That was beautiful. Nice to see even Netflix carry the NASA feed and push it to their user base. Far too little attention paid to not just this mission but the Artemis program as whole and we need more unifying events as a country and the world.
AdoringCHIN@reddit
Huh? There's been almost nonstop coverage on the news about Artemis.
amesann@reddit
I second this wholeheartedly.
pavehawkfavehawk@reddit
That’s so frickin awesome
DigitalPhear13@reddit
Thank you for flying NASA! We hope you choose us again for your next celestial adventure!
UckfayRumptay@reddit
Imagine the sky miles bonus on their NASA credit card!
DigitalPhear13@reddit
I can’t believe there isn’t a person in marketing at one of the airlines to give them all that many miles for the airline.
quesoandcats@reddit
They might not be allowed to? There are pretty strict rules about federal employees accepting gifts
SeaMareOcean@reddit
The gesture is the marketing angle, the astronauts don’t have to accept the miles.
changyang1230@reddit
And to be fair, for their experience of flying to the freaking moon and back, most people would PAY to be there, no amount of earthly perk is even relevant to what these four people after what they have been through.
Lovecodeabc@reddit
One of the astronauts are canadian sooo
quesoandcats@reddit
I assume the Canadian government has similar rules? But idk tbh
RedditPoster05@reddit
694,000+ miles
3_if_by_air@reddit
Best we can do is NASA Basic Econolaunch for 450k miles. Food, drinks and Oxygen available for extra
Wanymayold@reddit
Not enough for a roundtrip on Delta to Europe.
rds060184@reddit
It'll get ya coach to Shreveport
RedditPoster05@reddit
Enough for premium coach + to manhattan kanasas
bengenj@reddit
Three of them have prior missions on an ISS expedition. They have million miler status by now lol
kataskopo@reddit
Probably still only silver, with the recent changes these past years 😭
Cruel2BEkind12@reddit
Thank you for flying Boeing technically.
ImJLu@reddit
Both Boeing and Airbus, actually.
KeyTarget9630@reddit
Never space x
Stormclamp@reddit
One day... one day that will be a common statement, here's hoping.
RoyalChris@reddit (OP)
A much needed happening to unite the whole world
avenueroad_dk@reddit
You can say that again
ProcedureOne4150@reddit
Don’t forget to join the NASA Frequent flyer program. haha
private8221@reddit
LOL that is hilarious
Pallendromic@reddit
Thanks to the inanimate carbon rod?
Isme1@reddit
Why is this post seat-belts fastened?
Dazzling_Let_8245@reddit
Can you explain? What did I miss?
Traditional_Fun7712@reddit
It's all references from the episode of the Simpsons where Homer goes to space. A fantastic, classic episode.
diabolicalroadrash@reddit
Aw they were about to show a close up of the rod
dubstepsickness@reddit
I guarantee that Artemis capsule is full of ruffled potato chips and space ants
diabolicalroadrash@reddit
I for one welcome our new ant overlords
Glittering-Ad-9585@reddit
In rod we trust!
Chilebound@reddit
They can lift Crew Dragon out of the water. I know this was a test flight and Orion is bigger/heavier. If Orion returns became more routine, do you think we could see them lift it right onto the recovery ship deck?
Familiar_Fee_7891@reddit
The fact that we still haven’t met a returning moon mission crew with all of us wearing ape suits and masks saddens me.
ImJLu@reddit
They should get costume artists to make everyone look really old and claim some time dilation fuckery
Zucc@reddit
I nominate this person as the next head of NASA.
PAguy213@reddit
It’s a prideful moment as a human to watch this kind of stuff. Some evolved monkeys have shot ourselves around the moon and come back safely. That’s pretty damn cool
Rampaging_Bunny@reddit
I ain’t no monkeys grandson
TheTiddyQuest@reddit
I was both amazed and terrified when they were saying how lonely and surrounded by darkness Earth appears in space.
It just puts into perspective how insignificant we all are in the wider universe and how we just exist in a gigantic space beyond comprehension.
_austinm@reddit
It is truly amazing that some apes with abnormally large brains were able to accomplish this. I don’t want to discount the intelligence of other species, but it seems that there’s something special about our species that we were able to do this mathematically insane task multiple times.
Homo sapiens are capable of wonderful things. I just wish that we as a species could see this when it comes to things that happen on our little sphere of earth. How silly wars are when we consider what our species is capable of.
TheRealDurza@reddit
It's amazing how accessible it was to watch live. It's great watching it with so many around the world.
TrueDirt13@reddit
@elon.. help the government get the astronauts off the water!! Space x would have had these people on the hard In 20 minutes
Little-Helper@reddit
@rock is this true?
shadowdogPK@reddit
So incredible and so relieved for the astronauts!
How do they alert air traffic of where not to fly, especially in the event Artemis II went off the expected flight plan?
mmmayer015@reddit
NOTAMs and if it was off the expected flight path at all we would be having 4 funerals.
peace2calm@reddit
the ocean surface is so calm that I thought I was watching the sky in the background.
Pro-editor-1105@reddit
Besides the toilet issues there wasn't a huge amount of them. I'd call this a successful mission.
DalinarOfRoshar@reddit
I’ll be very interested to see the damage to the heat shield
NetworkMachineBroke@reddit
And Outlook not working (though let's be honest, that was inevitable)
Pro-editor-1105@reddit
It doesn't even work back home lol
KaJuNator@reddit
The number of actually important emails I've missed because I didn't notice the inbox switched itself back to "Focused"...
Superbead@reddit
Fortunately this is one of the few settings that's never mysteriously reverted itself for me. But I have to wonder why anyone would actually want to leave receiving an email down to the whim of someone else's algorithm. Does anyone here used 'focused' mode?
ArcticBeavers@reddit
Thats a win for the astronauts
From: Houston (houston@nasa.gov)
Subject: URGENT - Heart rate
Good morning astronauts,
We hope this email finds you well. We noticed in our telemetry that someone had their heart rate elevate from 65 bpm to 75 bpm.
We know this is well within spec, but due to an abundance of caution we would like for you to fill out an entire report on the event (with root cause analysis and corrective actions) and have it back to us ASAP.
We know you have several mission critical tasks today, but please try to make the time.
Thanks in advance!
Houston
P.S. We will sing happy birthday to Julie today at 12pm!
Fuuuuuuvk you.
Kerlykins@reddit
And who among us actually WANTS Outlook to work??
Big_Lawfulness_8143@reddit
It's better than gmail
liedel@reddit
Said nobody who has been forced to use both
EvenMoreCoconuts@reddit
An outlook + Teams outage would be the ultimate delivery of peace!
strtbobber@reddit
Amazing!!!
Ok_Mathematician6075@reddit
NASA's Artemis II crew splashed down today (April 10, 2026) after completing humanity's most ambitious crewed journey in over 50 years!! On April 6th, Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen flew behind the lunar far side, completely out of contact with Earth for 40 minutes, and broke the record for the farthest humans have EVER traveled: 252,756 miles from Earth. Apollo 13 held that record since 1970.
Think about that. Pink Floyd released *The Dark Side of the Moon* in 1973, a year after Apollo 17 left the Moon, almost as an elegy for a dream deferred. Fifty years later, we finally went back and saw it with our own eyes.
I don't care what's going on in the world right now. Today, I'm just proud to be a human.
🚀 Godspeed, Integrity crew. Welcome home.
#Artemis #NASA #SpaceExploration
GreenMonster34@reddit
I took a shot every time they said "Front Porch" and died four times...
Huge congrats to all involved! It was really cool to watch it live with my family.
FORKNIFE_CATTLEBROIL@reddit
We were at Milwaukee Bucks game tonight, and they were playing short videos and providing updates. The crowd was cheering. Very cool.
testfire10@reddit
It’s just as a percentage of the national budget, so it’s purely in terms relative to how much the federal government spent on nasa back in the Apollo days compared to now. It just shows how, as a society, we’ve lost interest in NASA’s goals.
Few-Ability-7312@reddit
Not to take away from the Apollo Missions I would prefer Artemis due to the face we can watch it in real time.
Misophonic4000@reddit
The actual term is "splashed down" since it "landed" in the ocean :) /PSA
t-ride@reddit
How far offshore did they land?
Misophonic4000@reddit
Definitely no land there :P
TheGreatestOrator@reddit
5 miles
mikeymikeymikey1968@reddit
what do they do with the used parachutes?
smallaubergine@reddit
study them
Kavein80@reddit
You think the 4 crew members are all standing in the aisle crowding the door, grabbing carry-ons?
BurdenedClot@reddit
Did they clap?
NebulaNinja@reddit
Somewhere around 3/4 of the way back to Earth, astronaut Jeremy Hansen expressed his regrets about not upgrading to a window seat.
SuperSimpleSam@reddit
4? I only see three parachutes. j/k
mrstretchb4ureach@reddit
That's how we know they are human and not alien shapeshifters who hijacked the shuttle!
FirstV1@reddit
Wonder who was the first up when the seatbelt light turned off
Competitive_Cheek607@reddit
I really appreciate them sticking with the three white and orange striped parachutes like Apollo. Iconic
OldPersonName@reddit
I think orange is a good high visibility color against water. So is green so next time I vote they do green and orange.
No_Slice7251@reddit
I thought we would see more steam rise off of the capsule when it hit the water being it went through so much heat?
blixco@reddit
It's a long way down, and a heat shield doesn't retain as much heat as you'd think.
CamusCrankyCamel@reddit
The heat shield is ablative so it doesn’t have that much thermal energy by splashdown
av8geek@reddit
I'll give the landing 6/10. Minus 5 points because they can't re-use the craft. 🤣🤣🤣
Seriously tho... Amazing stuff! I can only imagine the excitement 50 years ago because I have been excited by this all week.
Bravo. 👌
_austinm@reddit
Welcome back, astral travelers! It is my hope that your journey could teach us about the fragility and beauty of life, and that we shouldn’t harbor grudges against those who may look different than us. May your journey bring about a new era of unity amount our species. Thank you for all your training and all the sacrifices you’ve made in the name of mankind.
j_grinds@reddit
Just announced on the livestream the the first crew member is out of integrity. That’s disappointing. Never meet your heroes I guess.
somethingisnotwight@reddit
I'm always amazed at the beautiful things we can do with proper leadership. To think this mission was ongoing while the debacle in the Middle East was happening just shows what proper leadership can lead us, and where shitty leaders will lead us. I'm in eternal awe at NASA. Especially after the bozo in chief asked to cut the NASA budget by more than 30% for the second year in a row.
aviation-ModTeam@reddit
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namwoohyun@reddit
Welcome home!
Simple-Order8549@reddit
I’m hearing the Apollo 13 music while watching this.
delpy1971@reddit
An amazing achievement and a heart stopper waiting for those final parachutes open!!
Oh_Cabana_Boy@reddit
That third parachute not opening at first had me holding my breath!
private8221@reddit
It freaked me out for a moment
NoResult486@reddit
I assume they’re staged so they don’t all open at once
private8221@reddit
Well it doesn't matter now. They are safe
ApacheKillbot@reddit
Thats just something that happens whenever you cluster parachutes. Theyre all fighting for air so one chute will always open faster than the others.
That third chute is redundant so as long as they had 2 all would be good.
All the chutes are also closed up some when they initially inflate and then explosive cutters cut a cord that let's the chute inflate more and more. Big chutes make a lot of force so if they open too quick they go pop.
avenueroad_dk@reddit
This all feels amazing. Can we stop with the wars now?
_austinm@reddit
Sadly, I think undeniable contact with aliens would be the only thing that would stop that. Despite our wonderful scientific achievements, we continue to be a horribly tribalistic species.
Skywarper@reddit
The us government has all but confirmed that aliens exist, it just got released with lots of other distracting news.
Rymnarr@reddit
I hope people understand just how big this whole mission was/is. How proper research and funding makes for clean efficient results. And not funding billionaires pet project hobby that blow up a rocket worth million every month with little no results in over a decade.
dinonb12@reddit
are they waiting to open it cuz it's hot?
_SmashLampjaw_@reddit
You don't wanna be out there is the hydrazine is leaking.
demonkc@reddit
FINALLY. Its open.
avenueroad_dk@reddit
Fresh air must feel good to them
bengenj@reddit
They have to stabilize the capsule, hook up everything. They also want to, yes let it cool a little more. Also, they keep the recovery ships out of the trajectory of the capsule until they are safely in the water.
JayDaGod1206@reddit
Hazardous chemicals
Delphius1@reddit
still waiting on that hatch door to open
orbak@reddit
Yeah and I bet everyone is already standing up blocking the aisle
NotAPoshTwat@reddit
It would suck to have gone through launch, circling the moon, and then reentry only to get seasick waiting for them to let you out
julias-winston@reddit
I heard there was a problem with the toilet. IDK the details - don't want to know the details! - but I imagine space travel being one fucking thing after another, and always inconvenient.
Nearly every kid: "I wanna be an astronaut when I grow up!"
Me, today: "Nah. Go ahead. I'm rootin' for ya though!" 😄
ickytoad@reddit
They mentioned they loaded the crew up with anti nausea meds before re-entry because the Apollo crew all talked about getting so sick for this reason 😅😅
Delphius1@reddit
and the hatch just opened
Acheloma@reddit
Just opened!
IngsocInnerParty@reddit
Hopefully not on its own.
RoyalChris@reddit (OP)
Be careful of Calvin
RoyalChris@reddit (OP)
Do no let Calvin out
MX5OLDGUY70@reddit
They are having a hell of a time getting the stabilization collar on! They lost control of it the first time they tried.
8def8@reddit
Can you touch open the door heat shield
anannanne@reddit
I feel like they should pop out of the pods with jazz hands and a “Ta-daaaaaaaaaa!” Fucking science.
_austinm@reddit
Science, bitch!
justrigt08@reddit
I've seen enough. 5 billion to NASA.
rumpel_foreskin17@reddit
Very close to the Cortes Bank! Sick!
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
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Elizabeth_268@reddit
We’re really back to “going to the Moon” being a normal sentence again. What a time to be alive.
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DatBeigeBoy@reddit
Fuck yeah!
Birdnest_Hemingway@reddit
This is so cool, but because I've (admittedly) had a couple glasses of wine tonight that splash down is r/mildlypenis. AGAIN, very cool and glad crew are safe and penis
julias-winston@reddit
Incredible. Amazing work, NASA. 🙏
collegefootballfan69@reddit
The photography was better in the 1960’s
_Lord-Kinbote_@reddit
I feel like a rock with a parachute isn’t aviation. Granted, pilots were on board, but what did they do that gravity couldn’t do? Not like they landed a space shuttle.
Frank_the_NOOB@reddit
Welcome home
avenueroad_dk@reddit
Shatner on CNN is cracking me up. He is practically hyperventilating
Dense_Literature7964@reddit
Have they opened the door yet? 😭
PENGTINGMAN@reddit
Did they get info about Sentinal Prime???
Ambitious_Recipe_813@reddit
Did they finish their jar of nutella? Otherwise it could be auctioned for a pretty hefty price. Who doesn't want to put Astro-Nutella on their breakfast.
bengenj@reddit
That jar of Nutella is probably heading to the Air and Space Museum lol
LasVegasNerd28@reddit
Actually, it’s probably headed for a science lab lol. They’ve been telling them to stow unfinished snacks so they can do experiments on them.
I_AM_FERROUS_MAN@reddit
Relieved and proud that we can still accomplish great things when we work together.
choneybear7@reddit
Imagine being a highly trained and successful intelligent astronaut and people mocking you and thinking this is Hollywood special effects
Comfortable-Force595@reddit
Guy has a beautiful voice
Illustrious_Listen_6@reddit
So awesome!🥹
LeanOnTheSquare@reddit
LETS GOOOOOOO
TunnelCam@reddit
But some guy on Tik Tok said this didn’t happen!
hughcifer-106103@reddit
the Fartemis has landed!
Innerjade@reddit
Idk looks like it landed on the water to me, I dont see any earth
SaturnSociety@reddit
Well written and delivered.
MeanCat4@reddit
Ok man! Back to our shity life!
LatinoEra@reddit
That's so freaking cool!! And I love how they drew a dick in the water after landing lol
No-Hand-8359@reddit
Hell yea. Hopefully next we get the Blue Moon pathfinder launching this year
ruggev@reddit
What a historic day! So proud of the work this administration has done to make this happen.
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NoTap8889@reddit
Talk about giving a reliable source
RoyalChris@reddit (OP)
Source is from NASA
Nervous_Card_7718@reddit
Poor guys (and gal) probably gotta pee so bad. Open that friggin door!
ChrisAplin@reddit
Welcome back!
ScaredEfficiency399@reddit
taytayfosho@reddit
This is so freaking cool!!! I was so worried about their re-entry. Welcome home, crew!!
imsals@reddit
Welcome home
Outrageous-Score7936@reddit
🫡
Ok-Mathematician5970@reddit
Mission Accomplished
TheDoughGothamKneads@reddit
Welcome to earf.
RoyalChris@reddit (OP)
Source is from NASA