Knocking into the environment at more than 30 times the speed of noise, NASA’s Orion spacecraft blazed a path over the Pacific Ocean on Friday, returning home with 4 astronauts and securely topping humankind’s very first trip to the Moon in almost 54 years.

Temperature levels outside the pill developed to some 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit as a sheath of plasma covered the Orion spacecraft, called Stabilityand its 4 long-distance tourists, briefly obstructing radio signals the Moon ship and Mission Control in Houston. Flying southwest to northeast, the spacecraft guided towards a splashdown zone southwest of San Diego, where a United States Navy healing ship held position to wait for the team’s homecoming. Ground groups restored interactions with Orion leader Reid Wiseman after a six-minute blackout.

Airborne tracking aircrafts beamed live video of Orion’s descent back to Mission Control, revealing the pill reject its parachute cover and release a series of chutes to support its plunge towards the Pacific. 3 bigger primary chutes, each with a location of 10,500 square feet, opened to slow Orion for splashdown at 8:07 pm EDT Friday (00:07 UTC Saturday).

In simply 14 minutes, Orion bled off almost 25,000 miles per hour of speed, subjecting the team strapped into their seats to 2 quick durations of about 3.9 Gs.

The USS John P. Murtha amphibious transportation dock ship dispatched helicopters and little boats to start drawing out Wiseman and his Artemis II crewmates: Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. Wiseman reported “4 green team members” inside the cockpit of the Orion spacecraft, validating health and high spirits after splashdown.

Koch left the pill initially, signing up with Navy scuba divers on an inflatable raft, or “front patio,” put together beside the spacecraft. Glover was next, then Hansen, a Canadian astronaut, got out of Orion onto the front deck. Wiseman, the captain of the ship, was last to leave his seat and sign up with the healing group. 2 helicopters were anticipated to raise the astronauts from the sea and fly them to the John P. Murthawhere they were to go through medical checks before taking a trip to San Diego, then back to Houston for a reunion with their households Saturday.