Almost as soon as they arrived at the Moon, gravity started pulling the astronauts back home. The four-day homebound cruise ended with an on-target reentry, with the Orion capsule reaching a top speed of some 24,661 mph, just shy of the all-time human speed record set on the Apollo 10 mission returning from the Moon in 1969.

The Orion crew module containing the four Artemis II astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean Friday evening.

NASA and SpaceX have named the four astronauts for the Crew-13 mission, targeted to launch in September to the International Space Station.

Noah Tilton was part of the Artemis II recovery team and his family in Maine is 'over the moon' about his role in the historic mission.