Artemis 2 splashdown: See the astronauts return to Earth

To humanity's relief, the Artemis II astronauts returned safely to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific ocean just off the California coast Friday evening. And it looked every bit as iconic as those Apollo splashdowns from the 1960s and 1970s.

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As thrilling as the splashdown was, equally thrilling was video of the crew module separating from the service module a half hour before the spacecraft returned.

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Celebrations broke out at the nearby Air and Space Museum in San Diego, where one space-loving child gave us what may be the most relatable raised fist since Success Kid.

Celebrations also broke out several hundred miles north at the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey, California — where the descent was a nerve-wracking reminder of the lost Space Shuttle that the center is named for.

However, there followed a wait of more than an hour — longer than expected — while the crew awaited the inflation of a hexagonal raft called a "front porch". That would attach to a "stabilizing collar" around the capsule.

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After a significant delay, the astronauts all found themselves extracted and on the front porch — snug with a sizeable extraction team. The hexagon then floated free, awaiting astronaut extraction via helicopter.

The Artemis II Commander, Reid Wiseman, was the last to be airlifted from the floating hexagon.

Finally, the helicopters returned with the astronauts to the deck of the USS John P Murtha — where Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch and pilot Vic Glover spotted the livestream camera, cheered and waved to viewers around the world.

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