SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Thousands of people packed into the pavilion at the Air and Space Museum in San Diego to watch the four-person Artemis II crew splash down in the Pacific Ocean.
The watch party was the biggest event the museum has hosted in its 63-year history.
Spectators of all ages united to watch the crew, who traveled farther from the planet than any humans ever, land in the waters just off the San Diego coast.
The crowd gave a standing ovation and chanted "USA!" as the Orion capsule hit the water.
"I hope that this turns into a core memory for them and definitely something I will never forget," said San Diego resident Kenny Chen, watching with his 5 and 7-year-old kids.
Kenny's friend, Adeleine Fedeosuyev, was sitting there too with her own kid.
"To me, it’s like, wow. It’s like, I never got to see it when I was little, and I’m so happy for them that they get to see it now, at their age, that’s the biggest part of it all that they get to witness it," she said.
Spectators celebrated every major milestone of the return home, including when the capsule detached from the service module, when the crew re-entered the atmosphere, and when the parachutes deployed.
No celebration bigger, though, than the moment Orion hit the Pacific Ocean — a moment that brought us together as one.
"Kind of important right now. It kind of unifies everybody. It really magnifies just how small, and we can just all be united because we’re all in the same place, same planet. Earth," Stephanie Maldonado said, visiting from Riverside County.
A moment that also honored the work of our past while setting the stage for what's to come.
"It’s beyond this Artemis team. I mean, it started ages and ages and ages ago and it’s laying the foundation for even the future beyond this," Jennifer McMillan said, in San Diego from Los Angeles County with her husband and two kids.
As ABC 10News' Max Goldwasser witnessed the celebration, he was reminded of a conversation he had with astronaut Christina Koch back in 2023 as she prepared for the lunar mission.
He asked her what it meant to be a part of the mission and to do it as the first woman ever to embark on a lunar mission.
Koch said for as long as she can remember, she was a little kid looking up at the stars, wondering what is out there.
Now that the mission is complete, she is able to inspire the young boys and girls watching from the Air and Space Museum and across the globe — who might one day be in her shoes.
Follow ABC 10News Anchor Max Goldwasser on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
