Artemis 2 astronauts celebrate successful return to Earth | Space photo of the day for April 13, 2026

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two people in bright orange spacesuits smile and wave inside a helicopter on the deck of a ship at sea

NASA Artemis 2 astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch celebrate after splashing down back on Earth. (Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Artemis 2 astronauts are all smiles back on Earth.

What is it?

On Friday (April 10), after a 10-day mission around the moon, the crew of NASA's Artemis 2 mission headed home. The astronauts, who successfully completed the first crewed mission to the moon since NASA's Apollo program ended in 1972, strapped into the Orion capsule and hurtled through the atmosphere on an intense ride back to Earth. After splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, the crew was extracted from their capsule into a small boat before each of the four crew members — NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch and the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen — were airlifted by helicopter onto a U.S. Navy recovery ship.

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Once on the recovery ship, the astronauts were able to exit their helicopters and connect with NASA team members and personnel. In this photo, Glover (left) gives a thumbs-up and Koch (right) throws out a wave to the camera as the two smile and take in their momentous achievement.

Why is it incredible?

NASA's Artemis 2 mission is incredible for a multitude of reasons scientific, technical, and historical. But this moment captured between Glover and Koch shows a glimpse into how this mission accomplished more than just technical goals.

The crew made waves over social media throughout their mission for their incredible bond. They've been seen hugging, cheering each other on, snapping photos of one another, and more.

This photo was snapped after the crew endured a return to Earth, which meant hurtling through the atmosphere at over 24,000 miles per hour (38,000 kilometers per hour) and in a capsule enduring temperatures up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius). The blistering journey was followed by a splash landing in the ocean where the crew rocked on the water awaiting extraction before being transported to a boat, then a helicopter, and finally the recovery ship. This was no easy journey.

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And yet, Glover and Koch sit together after all of that beaming smiles out to the world who watched them land with baited breath.

With the success of Artemis 2, NASA is moving forward toward Artemis 3, another crewed lunar mission that will run ahead of the agency's planned moon landing with Artemis 4.

Chelsea GohdContent Manager

Chelsea Gohd served as a Senior Writer for Space.com from 2018 to 2022 before returning in 2026, covering everything from climate change to planetary science and human spaceflight in both articles and on-camera in videos. With a M.S. in Biology, Chelsea has written and worked for institutions including NASA JPL, the American Museum of Natural History, Scientific American, Discover Magazine Blog, Astronomy Magazine, and Live Science. When not writing, editing or filming something space-y, Gohd is writing music and performing as Foxanne, even launching a song to space in 2021 with Inspiration4. You can follow her online @chelsea.gohd and @foxanne.music

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