That was then, this is now. In the first image, @NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen in the Pacific Ocean after splashing down at 12:40 p.m. EST Dec. 11, 2022, off the coast of Baja California, successfully concluding the #Artemis I mission. The spacecraft was recovered by the agency’s Landing and Recovery team, the @usnavy, and @deptofdefense partners aboard the USS Portland. The 25.5-day uncrewed flight test, which launched Nov. 16, 2022, from Launch Pad 39B at @NASAKennedy Space Center in Florida, sent Orion around the Moon, surpassing the farthest distance from Earth for a spacecraft built for humans before returning home. In the second image, team members from the U.S. Navy prepare to take the Apollo spacecraft for NASA’s Apollo 6 mission aboard the USS Okinawa on April 4, 1968, after a successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, about 431 miles (693 km) north of Honolulu, Hawaii. The mission, which lasted nine hours and 57 minutes, marked the third and final uncrewed test flight for the Apollo program. Image Descriptions: 1: The Orion spacecraft floats in the ocean shortly after splashdown. Five orange airbags are strapped to the top of the capsule. The outside of the spacecraft appears silver and brown. The ocean is a deep blue. 2: Two men from the U.S. Navy frogman team are climbing on the Apollo Spacecraft 020 Command Module (CM), preparing for hoisting aboard the USS Okinawa. Light orange airbags are on top and circle the base of the CM. The ocean is navy blue. Image credits: 1: NASA/James M. Blair 2: NASA #Splashdown #Orion #Apollo #Pacific #Spacecraft #SaturnV #SLS #Space