'Next Step, Mars!' Trump as Artemis II crew splashes down in Pacific Ocean | Watch

NASA’s Artemis crew of four astronauts returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, capping humanity’s first return to the moon in more than 50 years.

It was a triumphant homecoming for the crew of four whose record-breaking lunar flyby revealed not only swaths of the moon's far side — never seen before by human eyes — but a total solar eclipse.

Welcome home Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy! 🫶

The Artemis II astronauts have splashed down at 8:07pm ET (0007 UTC April 11), bringing their historic 10-day mission around the Moon to an end. pic.twitter.com/1yjAgHEOYl — NASA (@NASA) April 11, 2026

US President Donald Trump congratulated the "talented" Artemis crew on Truth Social and wrote, "Congratulations to the Great and Very Talented Crew of Artemis II. The entire trip was spectacular, the landing was perfect and, as President of the United States, I could not be more proud! I look forward to seeing you all at the White House soon. We’ll be doing it again and then, next step, Mars!"

Trump said he “could not be more proud” and invited them to the White House.

After a week-and-a-half journey to and around the Moon, the Artemis II crew splashed back to Earth off the coast of San Diego at 5:07 p.m. local time (8:07 p.m. ET).

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialists Christina Koch, and Canada's Jeremy Hansen pierced the atmosphere aboard their Orion capsule, Integrity, travelling at Mach 33, a velocity not witnessed since the Apollo era of the 1960s and 70s.

“From the pages of Jules Vernes to a modern day mission to the Moon, a new chapter in the exploration of our celestial neighbor is complete,” said a NASA announcer as the astronauts splashed down. “Integrity’s astronauts, back on Earth.”

Launched from Florida on April 1, the astronauts racked up one win after another as they deftly navigated NASA's long-awaited lunar comeback, the first major step in establishing a sustainable moon base.

Artemis II didn't land on the moon or even orbit it. But it broke Apollo 13's distance record and marked the farthest that humans have ever journeyed from Earth when the crew reached 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers). Then in the mission's most heart-tugging scene, the teary astronauts asked permission to name a pair of craters after their moonship and Wiseman's late wife, Carroll.

During Monday's record-breaking flyby, they documented scenes of the moon's far side never seen before by the human eye along with a total solar eclipse. The eclipse, in particular, "just blew all of us away," Glover said.