Artemis II astronauts exit Orion capsule

The four crew members of NASA's Artemis II mission successfully exited their Orion spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, concluding a critical, multi-day post-splashdown recovery operation. Mission Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen emerged from the capsule after teams from NASA and the Department of Defense completed initial safing procedures and environmental sampling, ensuring the vehicle was secure for personnel access following its journey through the Earth's atmosphere and Pacific Ocean splashdown. This egress marks the final major milestone of the Artemis II crew module recovery test, a full dress rehearsal for the actual mission planned for late 2024. The integrated team from NASA's Exploration Ground Systems program, the U.S. Navy, and the spacecraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin practiced the entire sequence—from locating the bobbing capsule in the ocean with helicopters and boats, to securing it, towing it into the well deck of the USS *Portland*, and finally assisting the astronauts out. The operation validated procedures for safely retrieving the crew and the precious flight data from the capsule after its high-speed re-entry. The successful test is a pivotal step forward for NASA's ambitious Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon and eventually send them to Mars. The Artemis II mission will be the first crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft and the powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, sending the four astronauts on a journey around the Moon and back. The data and experience gained from this recovery rehearsal will directly inform the planning for the real splashdown and crew recovery after that historic 10-day flight, ensuring astronaut safety remains the paramount concern throughout the mission's final phase.