Artemis II astronaut Reid Wiseman’s awestruck words after textbook touchdown: ‘This planet is impossibly beautiful at every altitude I’ve seen it… surface to 250,000 miles’

It was an awestruck comment, perfectly summing up the relief and beauty of being back on planet Earth after a historic ten–day Moon mission which ended with a nail–biting fiery plunge into the Pacific.

Last night, Artemis II Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman posted a photograph of the sun’s rays gently poking through clouds saying: ‘This planet is impossibly beautiful from every altitude I’ve seen it… surface to 250,000 miles.’

His eloquent words summed up a mission which enthralled millions as mankind returned to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo missions.

Commander Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency went further into space – 252,756 miles – than any humans before, shattering the record set by the crew of Apollo 13 in 1970.

During re–entry, the most dangerous leg, they reached speeds of 24,664mph as their space capsule Orion streaked through the atmosphere at 2,760C (5,000F).

Nasa scientists – and millions around the world – held their breath during a six–minute communications blackout as the spacecraft entered the Earth’s atmosphere at 400,000ft.

During the 2022 Artemis I unmanned mission, the heat shield fractured in more than 100 places but instead of replacing it for the manned mission, Nasa decided to change the trajectory of the re–entry to make it ‘quicker and safer’. 

They used a complex ‘skip’ manoeuvre to lower stress and heat on the spacecraft, allowing it bounce in and out of Earth’s atmosphere like a stone being skimmed across a pond.

A Nasa insider said: ‘There was no margin for error. None.’ After the capsule splashed down safely, Nasa commentator Rob Navias said: ‘From the pages of Jules Verne to a modern–day mission to the Moon, a new chapter in the history of our celestial neighbour is complete.’

In all, the astronauts travelled 700,237 miles from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida to the far side of the moon before splashing down in the Pacific off San Diego exactly as scheduled at 5.07pm local time on Friday. (1.07am yesterday UK time).

They experienced deceleration forces four times stronger than gravity as they re–entered Earth’s atmosphere during their final 13–minute descent into the Pacific.

The Orion crew capsule containing the astronauts separated from Artemis II’s cylindrical service module 34 minutes before splashdown. 

At 22,000ft, Orion’s small parachutes known as drogues deployed before the main parachutes opened a minute later allowing it to touchdown in the Pacific at 20 miles per hour.

After more than an hour’s delay because of strong ocean currents, the four astronauts clambered into a dingy and were hoisted into helicopters which flew them to the USS John P. Murtha.

All walked unaided to the ship’s medical centre. The astronauts could be seen beaming with joy, giving the thumbs up and hugging recovery teams on the flight deck.

Nasa will launch Artemis III next year (to test lunar landing modules in low Earth orbit) before returning to put boots on the Moon with Artemis IV in 2028. That will be the first time man has stepped on the lunar surface since the end of the Apollo programme in 1972.

US President Donald Trump posted on social media: ‘The entire trip was spectacular, the landing was perfect and as President of the United States I could not be more proud. 

‘I look forward to seeing you all at the White House soon. We’ll be going to it again and then, next step, Mars!’

Last night the astronauts flew from San Diego to Johnson Space Center in Houston to be reunited with their families.

‘The new Wild West’: China and Russia race to cash in on base

By Nick Constable

It’s the new space race. And this time round, cashing in is what counts, as four superpowers – the US, China, Russia and India – try to establish the best Moon base site – with billions up for grabs.

As Britain’s first astronaut Helen Sharman put it yesterday: ‘It’s going to be a bit of a Wild West: a grab for the best bits of the Moon.’

Precious metals such as platinum, gold and silver could be mined and transported back to Earth – and the most valuable lunar resource is the gas Helium–3, worth up to £1,500 a litre.

It is rare on Earth but abundant on the Moon and could play a crucial role in making nuclear fusion a viable energy source. 

Nasa also views rare–earth elements – used in wind turbines and smartphones – as key components for a moon base and rockets. 

The most likely spot for a permanent base is the Moon’s south pole – especially the two–mile deep Shackleton Crater.

Nasa is working with the likes of SpaceX and Blue Origin to have a lunar lander ready by 2028.