{"id":48129,"date":"2026-04-12T01:29:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T01:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=48129"},"modified":"2026-04-12T01:29:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T01:29:02","slug":"artemis-ii-crew-struggles-to-walk-after-experiencing-earths-gravity-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=48129","title":{"rendered":"Artemis II crew struggles to walk after experiencing Earth&#8217;s gravity again"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>They were feeling a bit spacey.<\/p>\n<p>The Artemis II astronauts were filmed struggling to walk after experiencing Earth\u2019s gravity again following their historic mission to the moon.<\/p>\n<p>The intrepid quartet \u2014 comprised of astronauts comprised of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch \u2060and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen \u2014 had reentered Earth\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/10\/us-news\/artemis-ii-splashes-down-completing-historic-lunar-mission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">atmosphere at a peak velocity of nearly 25,000 miles per hour. <\/a><\/p>\n<p>The capsule then splashed down at a gentle 19mph in the Pacific Ocean<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>off San Diego precisely at 8:07 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist is assisted off the flight deck after arriving aboard USS John P. Murtha. <span class=\"credit\">Anadolu via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>NASA dubbed the Artemis II mission a resounding success, adding that the crew had hit a \u201cperfect bullseye\u201d during their landing.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The crew were then retrieved from the Orion crew module and flown via helicopter to the USS John P Murtha \u2014 and amphibious Navy dock ship \u2014 where the history-making space voyagers were met by cheering crowds.<\/p>\n<p>However, as the courageous explorers exited the chopper and made their way across the deck, it was apparent that they were experiencing some locomotive difficulties due to their 9-day stint in microgravity. <\/p>\n<p>As the footage showed, all four team members had to be supported by an aid on each side. All the while, a third assistant pushed a wheelchair behind them in case any of the crewmembers suddenly became weak in the knees.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, is assisted off the flight deck after arriving aboard USS John P. Murtha. <span class=\"credit\">via REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Thankfully, the astronauts were able to make their post space-walk sans wheelchair assistance. One even strode across the platform unaided, waving triumphantly at employees aboard the vessel \u2014 not too shoddy given they literally went to the moon and back.  NASA said they were in \u201cexcellent shape\u201d following their arrival back on Earth.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, commander Reid Wiseman reported that all four crewmembers were \u201cstable\u201d and \u201cgreen,\u201d indicating they were in good shape, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/04\/10\/science\/live-news\/artemis-2-splashdown-astronauts-return\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN reported.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Extended stints in microgravity can <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/09\/science\/artemis-astronauts-to-face-gravity-challenges-back-on-earth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cause a host of issues<\/a> during and following the return.<\/p>\n<p>These include inner-ear balance problems, nausea, immune system issues, sleep disturbances and vision problems because microgravity causes blood to pool in the head, affecting the optic nerve. <\/p>\n<p>Weightlessness in space can also induce major mass loss. After just two weeks, muscle mass can plummet by 20% while astronauts lose up to 2% of their bone density per month because their body no longer requires skeletal support in the microgravity environment.<\/p>\n<p>In general, the longer astronauts spend in space the more susceptible they are to gravity-related ailments.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The cover of NY Post paper covering the Artemis II crew\u2019s return following their mission to the moon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Thankfully, the Artemis II crew shouldn\u2019t experience too many issues as they were only in space for ten days. <\/p>\n<p>The crew is currently slated to undergo an\u00a0\u201cobstacle course\u201d \u2014 involving climbing and ladder and other tests \u2014\u00a0to gauge well they adjust to Earth\u2019s gravity and also gather data for future space forays.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Crewmember Reid Wiseman walks aboard recovery ship flanked by military personnel.  <span class=\"credit\">via REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This latest celestial saga marked the first time humans had seen the moon up close since Apollo 17 left it in 1972. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>During the historic jaunt, the spacecraft soared 252,756 miles from Earth on Monday, shattering the 248,655-mile record set by Apollo 13 nearly 56 years ago to the date in 1970.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m still at a loss for words,\u201d said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman while perched on Murtha. \u201cI mean, you know, like the childhood Jared right now, can\u2019t believe what I just saw.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>He added, \u201cI mean, almost been waiting my whole lifetime to see this, and then as NASA administrator, I just couldn\u2019t be more proud of the entire workforce, the years, the effort, the late nights, all that contributed to this incredible moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NASA will now focus on reviewing data from the Artemis II mission, before concocting plans for Artemis III, which, much like the recent mission, will entail a lunar fly-by but no landing.<\/p>\n<p>The potential moon landing will occur in 2028 with the Artemis IV, per their plans.<\/p>\n<p>During that mission, astronauts will also help lay the foundation for a permanent moon base, which will act as a jumping off point for future space missions, including one to Mars.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/11\/science\/artemis-ii-crew-struggles-to-walk-after-experiencing-earths-gravity-again\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>They were feeling a bit spacey. The Artemis II astronauts were filmed struggling to walk after experiencing Earth\u2019s gravity again following their historic mission to the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}