Governor Newsom welcomes NASA’s Artemis II crew back to Earth, touching down in the Golden State

What you need to know: The Artemis II crew returned to Earth earlier today when they splashed down off the coast of California. The Golden State has been instrumental to the mission's success and is proud to welcome the crew back to Earth.

SACRAMENTO - Governor Gavin Newsom today celebrated the crew from NASA's Artemis II mission as they touched down in California and congratulated all who contributed to the historic mission. A joint NASA and U.S. Navy team deployed from Naval Base San Diego recovered the Artemis II crew and Orion spacecraft that splashed down off the California Coast today at around 5 p.m. Today's recovery in California concluded the United States' first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years and the farthest distance ever traveled by humans, reaching 248,655 miles from Earth.

Here in California, we're proud to anchor the historic NASA Artemis II mission - and proud of our state's role in making this mission a success. For the over 16,000 California workers, 500 companies, and three NASA centers who worked on the mission, the crew splashing down off the California Coast is a full-circle moment and point of immense pride. Artemis II is a unifying moment for all of us here on Earth that we can shoot for the stars and strive for a brighter future, for all.

Governor Gavin Newsom

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Photo Credit: NASA

A mission fueled by Golden State talent

The Artemis II crew of four highly skilled astronauts includes California native Victor Glover, who was born in Pomona and earned his undergraduate degree at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, along with a master's degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. Glover embodies California's diversity and leadership in space exploration as the first Black astronaut to pilot a mission/spacecraft reaching the moon. Glover was joined by Commander Reid Wiseman, a Navy test pilot with International Space Station experience; Christina Koch, who participated in the first all-female spacewalk; and former fighter pilot Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

Also, from California on Artemis II was Rise, the zero gravity indicator and Moon Mascot designed by 3rd grader Lucas Ye of Mountain View. The zero-gravity indicator let the crew know when they reached weightlessness. Ye won an international competition with over 2,000 design entries. Rise also carried an SD card with 5,647,889 names of people from around the world who joined in on the historic journey.

California researchers and innovators shine around the moon and back

California is home to one-third of the United State's space technology companies and more aerospace engineers and defense personnel than any other state. Three NASA centers based in California contributed to the Artemis program:

• The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena manages the Deep Space Network which is an international array of giant radio antennas that provide crucial communications for the Orion.
• Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in Edwards which assisted with the Orion heat shield spectrometer system, supported flight testing capabilities and advanced critical exploration concepts.
• Ames Research Center in Mountain View which used advanced computer models to prepare for the 32-story rocket's smooth ascent and simulated the return of NASA's Orion spacecraft to Earth. Ames researchers helped guide the mission's lunar observations.

Photo Credit: NASA

The Golden State's innovation ecosystem fuels the future:

• California made up 62% of all U.S. venture capital funding and 31.5% of all venture capital deals last year.
• The Golden State has the highest density in higher education to create a top talent pipeline, with one college or university for every 64,000 citizens.
• There are more engineers produced in California than any other state.
• Technology Firms based in California gain four times the return on their investment compared to their global peers in the past two, three and five years.

Across California Industry leaders have helped make this mission a reality, providing advanced manufacturing, software development, safety and security services and specialized components such as valves, harnesses, clamps, batteries and cables.

More than 500 California Companies contributed to NASA's Artemis II, select companies include:

• Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company (Canoga Park) is the lead engines contractor for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, upgrading and testing the 16 RS-25 engines to power the flight.
• AMRO Karman Space and Defense (South El Monte) provides machining and welding services for key Artemis components.
• Beranek, LLC Precision Machining (Torrance) manufactures critical components for the SLS.
• Boeing (Los Angeles County) serves as a lead contractor for the SLS core stage, the backbone of Artemis.
• Kirkhill, Inc. (Santa Fe Springs) produces erosion-resistant insulation applied to critical areas along the SLS to protect hardware from weather and extreme temperatures during launch and flight.
• LeFiell Manufacturing Company (Brea) supplies miles of metallic tubing for the SLS Block 1 rocket.
• Lockheed Martin (Los Angeles County) serves as the prime contractor for the NASA Orion spacecraft, responsible for designing, building and testing the capsule that will carry the four astronauts.
• Northrop Grumman (Los Angeles County) provides the twin solid rocket boosters that help power the SLS and key propulsion for Orion's launch abort system, supporting both mission performance and crew safety.
• Precision Aerospace (Rancho Cucamonga) chemically mills precision RS-25 engine components, including ultra-thin nozzle jackets.
• Precision Tube Bending (Santa Fe Springs) manufactures custom tubing for SLS core stage systems and RS-25 engines.
• Tecma (Sacramento) creates precision parts for inclusion in the rocket's engine, ignition area and more.
• SpaceX (Hawthorne) is a major Artemis commercial partner, developing the human landing system for future lunar surface missions under NASA's broader Artemis campaign.
• VACCO Industries (El Monte) produces specialty valves pre-valves and advanced cryogenic fluid control systems for SLS propellant tanks.
• Votaw Precision Technologies (Santa Fe Springs) manufactures large metal parts from SLS flight hardware.

Generations of aerospace & defense leadership

California's role in powering human spaceflight stretches back decades. The Saturn V rocket that carried Apollo astronauts to the moon was built almost entirely in California and the original Apollo spacecraft itself was manufactured across the state. The Space Shuttle fleet was assembled in Palmdale, the first U.S. space station, Skylab, was built in Huntington Beach, and the RS-25 engine - originally developed for the Shuttle and now powering the Space Launch System for Artemis II - has been designed and manufactured in the San Fernando Valley since the 1970s.

As of late 2024, California is the top state in the country for:

• NASA spending: NASA procurement spending at $5.8 billion, accounting for 25% of NASA's total procurement nationwide and resulting in $18.6 billion in economic output for California.
• NASA-supported R&D: California's share of NASA procurement in R&D services sector is 67%, representing 19% of NASA-supported jobs in the state.
• NASA Employment Impact: Each NASA job in California supports an additional 35.7 jobs across the state, resulting in a total employment impact of 66,208 jobs.

Under Governor Newsom's California Jobs First Blueprint, Aerospace & Defense is an "accelerate" sector and is underpinned by a highly skilled and experienced workforce, world-class infrastructure and strong public-private investment, contributing an estimated $35 billion annually to California's gross domestic product (GDP).