Artemis II crew returns to Earth after lunar orbit

Four astronauts have completed NASA's Artemis II mission, orbiting the Moon and returning to Earth after a 10-day flight.

• The crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 11, having traveled 252,756 miles from Earth, the farthest distance a crewed spacecraft has reached.
• The astronauts lost communication with Earth for 40 minutes while passing behind the Moon, during which they conducted lunar observation.
• The crew named a lunar crater "Carroll" after Wiseman's late wife during their flyby of the Moon.
• NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency plans a lunar landing in 2028, a Moon base, and future missions to Mars.