Artemis II astronauts return to Earth

The NASA spacecraft carrying four astronauts finally splashed down as planned on Friday off the California coast of the United States. The Artemis II capped the US space agency's successful crewed test mission around the Moon which was the first such flyby in more than 50 years. 

As the astronauts returned to Earth, their spacecraft reached maximum speeds more than 30 times the speed of sound, and also faced searing temperatures around half as hot as the surface of the Sun. It was a key test of their heat shield, which in an earlier trial uncrewed mission had faced complications. US President Donald Trump praised the astronauts for their spectacular trip and he also looked ahead to the eventual goal of sending missions to Mars.