{"id":936,"date":"2026-04-22T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=936"},"modified":"2026-04-22T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:00:00","slug":"meet-the-u-s-navy-divers-who-brought-artemis-2-astronauts-home-from-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=936","title":{"rendered":"Meet the U.S. Navy divers who brought Artemis 2 astronauts home from the moon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-e5536a40-7078-4638-8329-defa8de26165\">When NASA&#8217;s Artemis 2 astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean this month after their historic journey around the moon, they were first greeted by four U.S. Navy divers.<\/p>\n<p>The diving medical team \u2014 Lt. Col. Jesse Wang, Senior Hospital Corporal Ruddy Aldridge, Hospital Corporal Vlad Link, and Hospital Corporal 1st Class Steve Capala \u2014 were the first to join NASA. <u>orion spaceship<\/u> At sea to assist the lunar return crew.<\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-e5536a40-7078-4638-8329-defa8de26165-2\">The dive team operated from the USS John P. Murtha and played a vital role. <a target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/news\/live\/artemis-2-nasa-moon-mission-updates-april-10-2026\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/news\/live\/artemis-2-nasa-moon-mission-updates-april-10-2026\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/news\/live\/artemis-2-nasa-moon-mission-updates-april-10-2026\"><u>first contact<\/u> Between spaceflight and recovery. They were tasked with opening the Orion spacecraft. <u>artemis 2<\/u> The astronaut, named &#8220;Integrity,&#8221; performed an initial medical evaluation of the crew and helped them exit the capsule safely and efficiently, the astronauts said. <u>statement<\/u> From the U.S. Army&#8217;s Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS).<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pb-0 pt-2 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 !text-base uppercase sm:text-sm font-bold&#10;        \"><\/p>\n<p>            you may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p id=\"elk-f816e382-230c-484f-b290-ae0a91709658\">The role of divers takes a new step forward <u>artemis<\/u> mission. Navy divers have been helping astronauts recover for years, but their origins date back to ancient times. <u>apollo program<\/u>Artemis 2 introduced a specialized diving medical team trained to enter the Orion capsule itself. Each sergeant was assigned to one of the following: <u>four astronauts<\/u> \u2014 NASA&#8217;s Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and <u>Canadian Space Agency<\/u>Jeremy Hansen \u2014 immediately performed a medical examination and assisted in evacuation from the spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s an incredible feeling to have Jesse, Steve, Ladi, and Vlad&#8230; on board Integrity after a journey of almost 700,000 miles,&#8221; said Wiseman, Artemis II commander. <u>As mentioned in the post on April 13th<\/u> \u201cWe are forever grateful for their service to our crew and our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wiseman&#8217;s post included a video highlighting the impact of the first moments back on Earth, when the diving team opened the Orion spacecraft to welcome the Artemis 2 crew.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more see-more--clipped\" id=\"elk-2043882692123501014\">\n<figure>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet hawk-ignore\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jesse, Steve, Ladi, and Vlad&#8230;it&#8217;s an incredible feeling to be able to join you aboard Integrity after nearly 700,000 miles. We are forever grateful for your service to our crew and our people. pic.twitter.com\/lJzNPkBIpq<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><figcaption>\u2014 I can&#8217;t work out <cite><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cantworkitout\/status\/2043882692123501014\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cantworkitout\/status\/2043882692123501014\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\">April 14, 2026<\/a><\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"elk-e267a0d6-f69c-488a-973a-510624721ce4\">After the Artemis 2 attack, operations evolved rapidly. <u>Splashdown on April 10th<\/u> Off the coast of California. The recovery team ensured its integrity, attached flotation devices, and stabilized the capsule in the open sea. Once it was safe to proceed, Aldridge opened the hatch and climbed inside to be the first to greet the crew after their 10-day mission around the moon. Inside the capsule, the team assessed the astronauts&#8217; post-exposure conditions. <u>microgravity<\/u>radiation, and assist in moving to an outdoor platform after exposure to the stress of atmospheric reentry.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-wXb7k4hhFDFJ2Ne9rAqamH\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-wXb7k4hhFDFJ2Ne9rAqamH slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Breaking the latest in space news, rocket launches, skywatching events, and more.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>From there, the astronauts were hoisted into a helicopter. <u>transported to Murta<\/u> Complete one of the most complex and carefully planned phases of the mission for further evaluation.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As a proud member of the underwater medical community, I am especially honored to be part of this mission,&#8221; said Wang, who led the four-person diving team, in a statement from DVIDS. \u201cIt is the honor of a lifetime to stand here today and provide the best care to the crew of Artemis 2.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Supporting the Artemis 2 crew was the culmination of years of preparation. Navy diving medical technicians are trained in both advanced diving surgery and emergency medicine, with expertise in handling patients in extreme environments. In the case of Artemis 2, <u>the team rehearsed<\/u> We used Orion mockups extensively in open waters and practiced every step of the recovery sequence with other military units and NASA personnel.<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-53288dc2-40d9-4924-b4e9-5102b1a4d7ea\">Their role lasts only a few minutes, but it&#8217;s one of the most important parts of a human spaceflight mission. Splashdown and recovery have unique risks and require precise coordination to ensure both the safety of the crew and the integrity of the spacecraft, the statement said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I grew up reading science fiction novels and watching movies. <u>space movie<\/u>I never thought I would be involved in such a recovery mission,&#8221; said Kapala, who provided care. <u>grabber<\/u>the pilot of the Artemis 2 mission during ocean recovery. \u201cParticipating in the task of safely extracting the astronauts from their capsules and safely returning them to their families is a surreal experience and an effort that makes us realize that this team is bigger than just the four of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As NASA moves forward with its Artemis program and plans for the future <u>moon landing<\/u>recovery team activities remain an essential link in the chain of space exploration. For these four Navy divers, their historic contributions came not in space but at sea, where they first came face-to-face with a new generation of divers. <u>month<\/u> The voyagers saw it on their return.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>#Meet #U.S #Navy #divers #brought #Artemis #astronauts #home #moon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When NASA&#8217;s Artemis 2 astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean this month after their historic journey around the moon, they were first greeted by four U.S. Navy divers. The diving medical team \u2014 Lt. Col. Jesse Wang, Senior Hospital Corporal Ruddy Aldridge, Hospital Corporal Vlad Link, and Hospital Corporal 1st Class Steve Capala \u2014 &#8230; <a title=\"Meet the U.S. Navy divers who brought Artemis 2 astronauts home from the moon\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=936\" aria-label=\"Read more about Meet the U.S. Navy divers who brought Artemis 2 astronauts home from the moon\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[974,1730,2297,2296,180,261,558,2295,770],"class_list":["post-936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-artemis","tag-astronauts","tag-brought","tag-divers","tag-home","tag-meet","tag-moon","tag-navy","tag-u-s"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}