They've just landed, and they're already going again? "This is just the beginning"

After setting new records near the Moon, the astronauts of the Artemis II mission completed humanity&rsquo;s first journey around the Moon in more than half a century with a spectacular splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Friday &mdash; a dramatic grand finale to a mission that revealed not only parts of the Moon&rsquo;s far side never before seen by human eyes, but also a total solar eclipse and a &ldquo;parade&rdquo; of planets, among which our own, radiant Earth stood out against the endless blackness of space.With their flight now complete, the four astronauts have laid the groundwork for NASA to send a new crew to land on the Moon within the next two years, as well as to build a true lunar base during this decade.The triumphant travelers to the Moon &mdash; Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen &mdash; emerged from their capsule, bobbing on the waves, into the sunlight not far from the coast of San Diego. Military helicopters lifted the astronauts one by one from a rubber boat attached to the capsule and transported them to the Navy recovery ship, USS John P. Murtha, in a scene reminiscent of the legendary Apollo program missions of the past.&ldquo;These are ambassadors of humanity to the stars that we have just sent out there, and I can&rsquo;t imagine a better crew,&rdquo; said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman from the recovery ship.NASA&rsquo;s mission control center erupted in celebration as hundreds of people streamed in from support rooms.&ldquo;We did it,&rdquo; said Lori Glaze excitedly at a press conference. &ldquo;Welcome to our venture to the Moon.&rdquo;Their Orion capsule, named Integrity, completed the entire atmospheric reentry on autopilot, as the spacecraft entered the atmosphere at Mach 33 &mdash; 33 times the speed of sound &mdash; an extraordinary velocity not seen since the Apollo program missions of the 1960s and 1970s, writes euronews.com. Tanjug/NASA via AP, HOGP Until the Artemis II mission, returns from the Moon in NASA programs had been carried out exclusively by white male pilots. In an effort to reflect changes in society, NASA selected a diverse, multinational crew for this return to the Moon.Christina Koch became the first woman to fly toward the Moon; Victor Glover the first Black astronaut; and Jeremy Hansen the first non-American astronaut, making Canada especially proud. They laughed, cried, and embraced throughout the journey there and back, symbolically trying to take the whole world with them.The Artemis II mission broke records during its flyby and provided spectacular views of the Moon.Launched from Florida on April 1, the astronauts achieved a series of successes as they skillfully led NASA&rsquo;s long-awaited return to the Moon &mdash; the first major step toward establishing a sustainable lunar base.Artemis II did not land on the Moon nor enter its orbit. Nevertheless, it surpassed the distance record of Apollo 13 and marked the farthest point humans have ever traveled from Earth, when the crew reached 406,771 kilometers.Then, in one of the most emotional moments of the mission, tearful astronauts asked for permission to name two craters after their spacecraft and after the late wife of Reid Wiseman, Carol.During the record-setting flyby on Monday, they captured views of the far side of the Moon never before seen by human eyes, as well as a total solar eclipse. The eclipse, as Glover said, &ldquo;left everyone in complete awe.&rdquo; Their sense of wonder and love made a powerful impression, as did their stunning photographs of the Moon and Earth.The Artemis II crew built on the legacy of the first lunar explorers from Apollo 8 with an &ldquo;Earthrise&rdquo; shot, showing our Blue Planet setting behind the gray Moon &mdash; a scene reminiscent of the famous Earthrise photograph from 1968. Born a decade after the Apollo program, Jared Isaacman welcomed the astronauts with hugs as they made their way from the helicopter to the ship&rsquo;s medical bay for routine checkups. They walked on their own, declining the wheelchairs that had been offered to them.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve returned to the business of sending astronauts to the Moon, bringing them safely back, and preparing for new missions,&rdquo; Isaacman said. &ldquo;This is just the beginning.&rdquo;

They've just landed, and they're already going again? "This is just the beginning"

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They've just landed, and they're already going again? "This is just the beginning"

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