NASA’s Artemis II — the first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years — returned to Earth on Friday after completing its historic trip around the moon.

The four-member crew — NASA commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen — successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 8:07 p.m. ET after plummeting through Earth’s atmosphere at more than 24,000 mph.

“A new chapter of the exploration of our celestial neighbor is complete,” NASA mission control announced on its live broadcast. “Integrity’s astronauts, back on Earth.”

To get there, the Artemis II crew had to endure one of the most harrowing parts of their journey: a reentry that heated the outside of their capsule (and its problematic heat shield) to more than 5,000°F.

In a “mission accomplished” post on social media, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman praised the Artemis II crew for doing an outstanding job as “humanity’s ambassadors to the stars.”

“This was a test mission, the first crewed flight of SLS and Orion, pushing farther into the unforgiving environment of space than ever before, and it carried real risk,” Isaacman wrote. “They accepted that risk for all we stood to learn and for the exciting missions that follow, as we return to the lunar surface, build a Moon base, and prepare for what comes next.”

President Trump also congratulated “the Great and Very Talented Crew of Artemis II” on social media.

“The entire trip was spectacular, the landing was perfect and, as President of the United States, I could not be more proud!” Trump wrote. “I look forward to seeing you all at the White House soon. We’ll be doing it again and then, next step, Mars!”

During Monday’s seven-hour lunar flyby, the Artemis II astronauts set a new record for the farthest distance from Earth traveled by humans — 252,756 miles, surpassing the previous mark set by Apollo 13 in 1970. (Yahoo News)

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