NASA’s Artemis II Orion capsule returns to Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s Artemis II Orion capsule has returned to the Kennedy Space Center in the US state of Florida after completing the first crewed spacecraft mission to the Moon in more than 50 years.

According to a statement on NASA’s website on Tuesday, the capsule carrying astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen was taken in for a detailed inspection.

NASA technicians will begin de-servicing operations on the spacecraft, including removing its components, the statement said.

“This includes removing payloads from the crew module, removing avionics boxes for reuse, and retrieving data from the spacecraft to better understand its performance and inform procedures and plans for future Artemis missions," the statement said.

"Orion’s heat shield and other elements will be removed for extensive analysis, and remaining hazards such as excess propellant will be offloaded,” it added.

The Orion capsule was launched on April 1 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as part of the Artemis II mission.

Upon completing the mission, the capsule returned to Earth on April 10.