The astronauts have completed a 10-day journey around the moon
Pictures and videos of the Artemis II mission astronauts have surfaced online following their 10-day journey around the Moon.
The mission, which began on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, included Christina Hammock Koch, an alumna of the University of Ghana, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
In images making waves online, the crew was captured landing in the Pacific Ocean.
Footage released by NASA on its official X account, and sighted by GhanaWeb, also shows the astronauts being extracted from the Orion spacecraft following their splashdown.
Artemis II Mission: Read what President Mahama said about UG alumna Christina Koch
In a separate video, Christina Koch and Victor Glover were seen celebrating their achievement on the deck of the USS John P. Murtha as they awaited routine post-mission medical checks.
The crew has broken the record for the farthest distance any human has travelled from Earth, surpassing the milestone set over 50 years ago by the Apollo 17 mission.
About the historic Artemis II mission:
As noted, the Artemis II mission is a 10-day U.S. spaceflight that sent four astronauts on a flyby around the Moon before returning to Earth.
The mission was launched from the Kennedy Space Centre on April 1, 2026, using the Space Launch System (SLS). It marks the first crewed mission of the Orion spacecraft and the first human journey beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in December 1972.
According to reports, Artemis II represents a major milestone in humanity’s return to deep space exploration, more than five decades after the last crewed lunar mission.
See first images from Artemis II's Moon fly-by released NASA
It is a key step in the broader Artemis programme led by NASA, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon and eventually send humans to Mars.
The mission’s significance also lies in testing critical systems to ensure the safety of future lunar landings, while symbolising renewed global interest in space exploration and a more diverse era of human spaceflight.\
Watch the footage below:
All four of the Artemis II astronauts have been successfully extracted from the Orion spacecraft following splashdown and are now on the USS John P. Murtha. Next up, they will be escorted to the medical bay where they will undergo post-mission medical evaluations. pic.twitter.com/v96RFKEUNN
— NASA (@NASA) April 11, 2026
Big smiles from Christina and Victor on the deck of the USS John P. Murtha, as they waited to be escorted for their routine post-mission medical checks. pic.twitter.com/3KwZFXTLhI
— NASA (@NASA) April 11, 2026
Artemis II may have splashed down, but our photos and videos from the mission are still rolling in! Keep an eye on the latest: https://t.co/rzM1P0QbOl pic.twitter.com/HahXb0gCYC
— NASA (@NASA) April 11, 2026
Welcome home Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy!Check out pictures from the return of the #Artemis II! 📷: https://t.co/mG3LANO8ci pic.twitter.com/Wld2OEIwmD
— NASA HQ PHOTO (@nasahqphoto) April 11, 2026
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