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Four astronauts successfully return to Earth after a 10-day mission around the moon in Orion spacecraft

The crew returned in the Lockheed Martin-built Orion spacecraft, splashing down just after 6 p.m. Friday to conclude the historic Artemis II mission.
NASA Artemis Moonshot
AP
This image from video provided by NASA shows the Artemis II crew, from left, Canadian astronaut and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch and pilot Victor Glover as they speak with NASA Mission Control in a video conference while en route to the moon, Thursday, April 2, 2026.
NASA Artemis Moonshot
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DENVER — Four astronauts successfully returned to Earth Friday, splashing down just minutes after 6 p.m. to conclude a 10-day mission around the moon.

The crew traveled in the Orion spacecraft, which was developed by Lockheed Martin.

The company, which has more than 14,000 employees in Colorado according to its website, was awarded the contract to develop Orion two decades ago, building every piece of hardware and software, and conducting the analysis for the spacecraft.

▶️ WATCH: Four astronauts splash down following 10-day mission around the moon

Four astronauts splash down following 10-day mission around the moon

"That's a Lockheed Martin product," Colorado-based Matt Cox said.

Cox is the program director for software and labs for Orion at Lockheed Martin.

"It's one of our flagship products as a corporation," Cox said.

People across the country and the world watched the thrilling moment when the spacecraft took off 10 days off.

He said it was nerve-racking at first.

"This is an incredible thing to see, and it has to go well, and it's really difficult," Cox said.

"It's been such a — the greatest payoff you could have from a regular person job, I think, that you could ever have," he added.

On Friday, spectators also shared in the excitement of the historic mission. Billie Lusk attended an Artemis II splashdown watch party in Downtown Denver.

"It's kind of cool that Colorado is such a integral part of the space program and that that we will get to go back and explore more things about the moon," Lusk said.

When asked at what point the mission is deemed a success, Cox had a clear answer.

"When the astronauts open the door and walk out that that's where, that's where it is," Cox said.

▶️ WATCH: Artemis II crew members safely exit the capsule

Artemis II crew members safely exit the capsule after splashdown

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.