>> You are live in the CNN
newsroom.
I'm Jim Acosta new Washington.
Splash down, the historic
artemis one mission has just
come to a successful end.
This is the moment the Orion
capsule landed in the pacific
ocean off of Mexico's baja
California.
>> Splash down!
From tranquility base to
Charles latrobe to the tranquil
waters of the pacific, the
latest chapter of nasa's
journey to the moon comes to a
close.
Ryan is back on Earth.
>> All right, 25 and a half day
uncrewed test flight around the
moon was meant to pave the way
for future astronaut missions,
including a program that will
eventually send humans to Mars.
That's right now show officials
are stressing the importance of
the safe reentry.
They got one.
Ryan has been quite a journey,
traveling a total of 1.4
million miles.
Kristen fisher is here with me
now.
It is too bad the crash test
dummies, whatever they had in
their.
>> The mannequins.
>> Yeah, the mannequins,
couldn't get any sky miles for
their air miles for that.
That is a long mission.
But a remarkable and.
This mission continues and
perhaps to a tantalizing next
step.
Tell us more.
>> Sure, you think about all
the things that this rocket and
this spacecraft have been
through.
I mean, so many delays, it got
hit by our hurricane.
>> That's right.
>> Five days before lunch.
And so, to see it have such a
successful mission and a
successful splash down today,
nasa officials absolutely
thrilled by what we're seeing.
So, right now, you're seeing,
of course, a replay of the
parachutes slowing that
spacecraft down to an
acceptable speed and hitting
the pacific ocean.
But now they have to actually
get this spacecraft out of the
pacific ocean.
So, what they're doing, this is
a massive recovery operation.
It involves the Navy, Kennedy
space center teams, and
basically you have people, you
have sailors on both, Navy
sailors that get right up close
to the spacecraft.
They're gonna do some visual
inspections, and then they
actually hook some cables onto
it.
The uss Portland will actually
pull out of the water, they
bring it back to the Navy base
in San Diego, and then back to
the Kennedy space center, where
they do some more intensive
tests.
But big picture here, this is
exactly what nasa needed in
order to move forward with its
artemis program.
This was the uncrewed test
flight and now they are going
to be able to start thinking
about who they're going to put
on the crew of artemis two,
which is going to be circling,
orbiting the moon, so to speak.
And then artemis 3 which is
going to be when they are going
to return American astronauts
to the moon for the first time
since the Apollo program.
Some of the images that you're
seeing there, that is of the
Orion spacecraft as it is
making its to send through the
Earth atmosphere.
This was, a gym, one of the
most critical tests today,
testing that heat shield,
making sure it could withstand
5000 degrees fahrenheit and
protect those future astronauts
that may be on board in future
missions.
But the other thing that really
stood out to me today, this
happened on almost the 50th
anniversary of the last time
that humans walked on the moon.
--
and Harrison Schmitt during
Apollo 7 teen.
So, there you can see some of
the incredible images that the
Orion spacecraft is able to
capture as it made its close
approach to the moon.
And now, humanity is one step
closer to going back.
>> And that will be an amazing
day when it finally happens.
That's what today was all about,
getting nasa that much closer
to that milestone.
And Kristen, I feel good for
Ayo that this all worked out.
Because I remember seeing you
when they tried to do the
launch, you know, time and
again.
There were weather delays,
everything else, so, it's great
to see that finally, yes,
patience pays off.
>> It is, if you think I'm
excited, imagine what it's like
for the nasa astronauts that
are waiting for that Kristen
might, you know?
>> That's right.
>> They've been waiting years
with no shuttle, now they've
got this.
>> I can't wait to hear that
part two.
All right, Kristen fisher,
thank you very much.
>> Thanks.
>> Joining me now is nasa
administrator, bill Nelson.
Bill, thanks so much for being
with us, we appreciate it.
What was the emotion like
inside nasa watching the Orion
spacecraft returned to Earth
today?
It looks like everything went
flawlessly and everybody must
have been just so pleased.
50 years to the day that
astronauts last stepped foot on
the moon.
>> The emotion was there.
It was confident, but it was
tense.
Because there were two big
things that had to happen
today.
First of all, the heat shield
had to work.
It worked perfectly.
And then the parachutes had to
work.
And they did perfectly.
And so, this was just
incredible because it was
coming in hot and fast.
It was coming in at 25,000
miles an hour, 5000 degrees
fahrenheit.
And it did that twice as it
dipped into the atmosphere and
lead off that speed, and then
came back up about 150,000
feet.
And then dipped in, in this
deep dive again to get more
speed, then came on in.
So, everything worked.
>> And as we know, this was not
a manned mission, but we know
that nasa's hope.
When do you think we will know
about human crew?
Might we get an announcement
soon?
Would you like to make some
news here?
>> As a matter of fact, you are
going to hear pretty soon.
We are going to encourage the
headquarters here down in the
Johnson space center in Houston,
we're gonna ask them to go
ahead and make their selection,
by the way, I think they
already have, but to be
prepared to go ahead and
announce it.
>> So, there are some names in
mind, perhaps already selected
at this point?
If I may not do a little bit?
>> Flight operations and the
chief astronaut, they make the
decisions, the Johnston center
directors then confirms those
and we'll let you know.
>> All right, thanks for
keeping us and suspense there.
That is what nasa does.
You know, this mission gave us
incredible images and space.
At one point traveling 40,000
miles per hour beyond the far
side of the moon, that is a
farther than any spacecraft
designed to carry humans, if
I'm not mistaken, that has ever
flown.
It is just staggering to think
about how important was that
from a scientific standpoint?
And the importance of where all
of this fits into the overall
program.
>> Well, we are going back to
the moon, but this time not
just to stay there and come
back, we are gonna go further
and so, this is a spacecraft
that can take us there and
venture beyond.
And so, we wanted to test it.
It was 40,000 miles beyond the
moon.
That was about 270,000 miles
from Earth.
And there are things work
perfectly.
The cameras on the spacecraft,
brought us just these
incredible pictures.
And it was commercial cameras
off the shelf.
And you are seeing these
crystal clear pictures and what
was particularly interesting,
as it came back to Earth today
and the camera was showing, the
Earth was small, it kept
getting larger and larger.
And you realize, you are on a
direct trajectory back to our
home.
That is planet Earth.
>> That's right, for those who
do not understand, help us out
here, explain why, I think
you're alluding to this just a
few moments ago.
Why all of this is a stepping
stone to getting humans to Mars?
I suppose some of the
confidence that you're taking
away from today allows you to
think, okay, maybe we can do
this.
In the next couple of decades.
>> Well, we can, and we will.
And 50 years ago we went to the
moon to prove that and we came
back.
Now, we are going to stay, to
work, to learn, to invent, to
create, to venture out further.
We are going to Mars first.
Then we are going to venture on
out into that very very large
universe.
>> And I guess before we go, I
want to show a few more images
taken by Ryan before it
descended.
The other week I was talking to
Neil --
who is so much smarter than me
on this issue, we love to talk
to him about space.
He was talking about how images
like this put into perspective
our place in the universe.
And I wonder what's been going
through your mind?
Are you thinking, senator
Nelson, that the possibilities
are endless now?
In part because of the success
of this mission?
>> Indeed, they are.
We have to take it a step at a
time, because space is hard.
And it's an unforgiving
atmosphere out there, and you
have to do it right when humans
are concerned.
And yet, the humans, to have
the discretion, to determine
what you want, to pick up on
Mars, it is a very important
fact.
And that is why we're going
with humans to Mars revert to
further out.
Who knows that we consider
science fiction now, it is
going to become science fact.
>> All right, now submissive