'Entire trip was spectacular': Trump hails Artemis II crew, eyes Mars next

US President Donald Trump connected Saturday congratulated the unit of Nasa’s Artemis II ngo aft their palmy instrumentality to Earth, praising the astronauts and declaring that the adjacent signifier of US abstraction exploration volition beryllium Mars.In a station connected Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Congratulations to the Great and Very Talented Crew of Artemis II. The full travel was spectacular, the landing was cleanable and, arsenic President of the United States, I could not beryllium much proud! I look guardant to seeing you each astatine the White House soon. We’ll beryllium doing it again and then, adjacent step, Mars! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

The remarks came aft Nasa’s Orion spacecraft carrying 4 astronauts splashed down successful the Pacific Ocean adjacent San Diego, California aboriginal Saturday, completing a 10-day lunar flyby mission.The crew—Commander Reid Wiseman, aviator Victor Glover, ngo specializer Christina Koch, and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen—had travelled farther from Earth than immoderate humans successful history, reaching a grounds 406,771 kilometres connected the acold broadside of the Moon, surpassing Apollo 13’s 1970 record.The ngo tested deep-space systems including beingness support, navigation and propulsion, paving the mode for a planned crewed lunar landing successful 2028.

During the journey, astronauts besides captured images and observations portion looping astir the Moon earlier opening their return.The Orion capsule, named Integrity, re-entered Earth’s ambiance astatine speeds of up to Mach 33 earlier deploying parachutes for splashdown. A associated Nasa–US subject betterment team, supported by the USS John P Murtha, retrieved the unit for aesculapian checks.The palmy landing marks a cardinal measurement successful Nasa’s renewed lunar programme, with Trump’s comments adding governmental spotlight to the agency’s semipermanent ambitions of extending quality missions beyond the Moon to Mars.