‎The four astronauts who flew in Nasa’s Artemis II mission around the Moon have splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean after a flawless return.
‎The crew are now safely aboard a waiting ship and recovering from a nine-day voyage that took them further from Earth than any humans in history.
‎Their Orion spacecraft was travelling at more than 24,000mph when it hit the Earth’s upper atmosphere and its heatshield was subjected to temperatures half as hot as found on the surface of the Sun.
‎The extreme heat meant the capsule, which the astronauts named Integrity, lost contact with mission control in Houston for six minutes during the descent.
‎The mission’s moment of maximum jeopardy had passed, and soon the spacecraft’s red-and-white parachutes opened and sent the capsule sailing majestically through the sky.
‎Their safe return clears the way for the next stage of the Artemis programme, which aims to land humans on the lunar surface and eventually build a permanent base on the Moon.
Edited by Favour Owonibi.