Artemis II astronauts return home

NASA's most ambitious human spaceflight mission in decades has concluded with a perfect splashdown and a hero's welcome for the crew.

Mission specialist Christina Koch and commander Reid Wiseman were greeted by cheering neighbors and their pets after completing a record-setting journey around the moon.

The mission's success has provided critical data for the upcoming Artemis III landing and humanized the moon for a new generation of observers.

While the astronauts celebrate their return, NASA officials are already looking ahead to the next phase of deep-space exploration, which will include the first long-term lunar habitats.