'A perfect mission': Artemis II astronauts return to Earth

This video grab made from a NASA livestream shows Artemis II crewmembers (in orange suits) being extracted from their spacecraft after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California © - / NASA/AFP

An elated NASA late Friday was celebrating its successful voyage around the Moon, after four astronauts safely returned to Earth having completed the first lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

The NASA spacecraft carrying four astronauts -- three Americans and one Canadian -- splashed down without a hitch off the California coast, capping the US space agency's crewed test mission that returned with spectacular images of the Moon.