The Artemis II team touching down in the Pacific Ocean using parachutes.
Astronauts aboard Artemis II have safely returned to Earth after a 10-day mission that took humans farther into space than ever before and revived momentum for deep space exploration.
The crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 00:07 GMT, concluding what officials described as a “textbook touchdown” following a carefully choreographed re-entry and descent sequence.
Commander Reid Wiseman confirmed shortly after landing that all four astronauts were “healthy,” while officials from NASA told a press conference the crew were “happy and in good condition” after the demanding mission.
“This is the start of a new era of human space exploration,” NASA said, stressing the mission’s role as a precursor to future crewed lunar landings and deeper journeys into the solar system.
A defining milestone came on April 6 when the Orion spacecraft carried the astronauts 406,771 kilometres from Earth during a lunar fly-by. The distance broke the record for the furthest humans have travelled into space.
The return journey involved precise and high-risk manoeuvres. At 23:33 GMT, the Orion capsule separated from its service module before beginning high-speed re-entry at more than 35 times the speed of sound.
Communications were lost for six minutes as plasma built up around the spacecraft. Contact was restored as the capsule descended further into the atmosphere.
Parachutes were deployed in stages, slowing the capsule to under 200 feet per second before splashdown off the coast of San Diego within a mile of its target.
Recovery teams moved quickly. By 00:34 GMT, the astronauts exited the capsule and were transferred to a recovery boat, then airlifted to a US Navy ship for medical checks.
Rescue squad helping the Artemis II team after touching down in the Pacific Ocean.
The crew included Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen alongside Wiseman.
“We have you loud and clear,” mission commander Wiseman said after landing. “What a journey. We are stable.”
The mission also faced a wave of misinformation online. False claims circulated across platforms, including 𝕏, TikTok and Facebook, ranging from allegations that the lunar fly-by was staged to claims that the footage was artificially generated.
An image viewed more than a million times on 𝕏 appeared to show the crew floating before a green screen, but a digital forensics expert told fact-checkers from Agence France-Presse the image showed signs of AI manipulation.
Another widely shared video suggesting the flight was staged was traced to a failed text overlay by a news station using the official feed.
Despite the false claims, the mission’s success is seen as a major step towards returning humans to the Moon, building a sustainable lunar presence and preparing for future missions to Mars.
Lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu, convicted leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, Aloy Ejimakor, has said Ndigbo will “never move on” from the injustices suffered after the Nigerian Civil War, particularly the confiscation of properties and the £20 compensation policy.
Ejimakor made the statement in a post on X on Saturday, where he argued that many people wrongly believe the Igbo have forgotten the humiliation and injustice experienced after the war.
“It seems to me that some people believe that Ndigbo have moved on from the humiliation & injustice of confiscating their properties & handing them a mere £20 at the end of the Civil War. Well, hear this: Ndigbo will NEVER move on until these injustices (plus more) are redressed,” he wrote.
The lawyer did not specify what additional grievances he was referring to, but his comments come amid renewed debates over historical injustices, reconciliation, and the treatment of the South-East region since the end of the Civil War in 1970.
It was reports that after the war, many Igbo people who had bank deposits before the conflict were reportedly given a flat sum of £20 regardless of the amount previously held in their accounts, a policy that has remained a subject of controversy for decades.
Ejimakor is one of the lead lawyers representing Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, who was recently convicted on terrorism-related charges brought by the Federal Government.
Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has called on the Federal Government to release detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.
Speaking to his congregation in a video sighted by DAILY POST, Primate Ayodele said if the Nigerian Government continues to keep Nnamdi Kanu, it should also arrest Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.
He said, “The Nigerian government should release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Since you keep Kanu in prison, why can’t you keep Sheikh Gumi in prison too?
“You keep Nnamdi Kanu but Gumi is free. Then, how do you want to now manage the government.
“If Nnamdi Kanu is there, then go and take Gumi. Then Nigerians will believe that the government is serious. Protest will seize this Tinubu government,” he warned.
United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres on Friday announced the appointment of Ahunna Eziakonwa of Nigeria as Special Adviser on Africa.
She succeeds Cristina Duarte of the Republic of Cabo Verde, to whom the Secretary General is grateful for her commitment and dedicated service to the Organisation.
Eziakonwa brings nearly three decades of United Nations (UN) leadership to her new role.
In her current role as UN Assistant Secretary General, Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), she oversees the organisation’s support to 46 African countries in pursuing Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Since 2018, she has helped shape UNDP’s strategic approach to economic and political development across the continent.
Eziakonwa’s experience spans the full breadth of UN work in Africa.
She has served as UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in three countries – Ethiopia, Uganda and Lesotho – where she coordinated humanitarian action, development strategy and political engagement.
As Chief of the Africa Section at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in New York, she managed humanitarian operations across 15 African countries and held senior posts in Liberia and Sierra Leone during critical periods in those nations.
At UN Headquarters, she contributed to peacekeeping and political analysis and strategic communications pertaining to UN engagement in Africa, working with the UN Departments of Peacekeeping Operations, Political Affairs and Public Information.
Prior to joining the UN, she held positions in several African civil society organisations.
Eziakonwa holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs with a focus on African economic and political development from Columbia University, New York, USA, and a Bachelor of Arts in Pedagogy, English and Literary Studies from the University of Benin, Nigeria.
In addition to her native Igbo and English, she speaks fluent Yoruba and has a working knowledge of French.