NASA’s Orion module splashed into the Pacific Ocean just after 8 p.m. Eastern on Friday, safely delivering the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission from their record-setting journey around the moon.The successful landing marks the conclusion of an important test for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon’s surface and eventually push deeper into the solar system. Artemis II was the first crewed mission to utilize NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew module – demonstrating that the agency’s equipment can propel people out of Earth’s orbit and bring them safely home.Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Friday, all eyes were on the Orion module’s heat shield, which must protect the crew from blistering temperatures during their high-speed descent through the atmosphere. On an uncrewed test flight in 2022, gas buildup within the shield caused charred fragments to break off.For this mission, NASA opted to modify the entry maneuver that it believes led to the gas problem. The capsule’s successful splashdown off the coast of San Diego on Friday night indicates that the heat shield was able to do its job amid temperatures of up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.Though the mission replicated many elements of the Apollo program, it still notched several milestones. During their 10 days in space, the crew – pilot Victor Glover, commander Reid Wiseman, and mission specialists Jeremy Hansen and Christina Koch – traveled farther from Earth than any human has before. Glover was the first Black man and Koch the first woman to leave low Earth orbit. Hansen, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, was the first non-U.S. citizen to reach the moon.In addition to testing the Orion module’s propulsion and life support systems, the astronauts collected scientific data on a key component of human spaceflight: themselves. Before they launched, each crew member had a tiny chip embedded in their bone marrow, which will help scientists understand how deep space affects the body.AdvertisementAdvertisementThey also observed parts of the moon that no human has seen with their own eyes, including the cratered brown expanse of the lunar far …
