Live updates: Artemis II astronauts splash down off California’s coast

Key Points:

• The Artemis II crew has safely returned to Earth after a 10-day lunar flyby mission, with the Orion capsule's interior reportedly smelling unpleasant, similar to a "locker room," though astronauts' dulled sense of smell in space likely minimized discomfort.
• Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, the first non-NASA astronaut on a lunar mission, was warmly welcomed home by the Canadian Space Agency and Prime Minister Mark Carney, marking a historic milestone.
• The recovery process involved careful safety checks of air and water around the capsule, medical assessments of the crew, and a methodical extraction procedure lasting 30 to 45 minutes before transporting astronauts to the USS John P. Murtha recovery vessel.
• NASA officials praised the mission as a major accomplishment for humanity, with plans underway for Artemis III in 2027 and ambitions to establish a lunar base by 2028, emphasizing the crew's professionalism and readiness for future missions.
• Reentry subjected astronauts to intense physical forces of nearly 4 Gs and extreme heat around 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, with expected post-flight symptoms including nausea, vertigo, dehydration, and fatigue after their time in microgravity.