NASA’s Artemis II crew smell fresh air for first time after historic moon mission

This is the moment the Artemis II crew smelled fresh air for the first time after becoming the first astronauts to travel to the moon in more than half a century. The astronauts were welcomed with cheers by recovery staff as they opened the Orion pod doors off the coast of San Diego on Friday (10 April), following a successful splashdown. They received a hero’s welcome as they returned to their Houston base over the weekend, reuniting with their families. During Artemis II's mission, they voyaged deeper into space than the moon explorers of decades past and captured views of the lunar far side never witnessed before by human eyes.