Artemis II astronauts deliver powerful words after splashdown | April 13, 2026

0:11 Hello everyone.

0:12 Welcome back to CNN 10.

0:13 I'm Allison Chinchar in for Coy Wire.

0:15 If you were on spring break like we were, I hope it was fun.

0:18 Hope you wore your sunscreen and hope you're

0:20 feeling ready to rock a fresh new week.

0:22 Now, let's get to your news for this Monday, April 13th.

0:26 NASA and the rest of the world are welcoming the Artemis 2 crew back to Earth.

0:31 The four astronauts received a standing ovation when they

0:34 arrived at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas Saturday.

0:38 They also reunited with their families

0:40 after their 10-day journey around the moon.

0:43 The Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific

0:46 Ocean on Friday capped the successful mission.

0:49 Speaking publicly for the first time since their return to Earth,

0:53 the crew members described the camaraderie they

0:55 shared on their journey to deep space.

0:58 We are bonded forever.

1:00 And no one down here is ever going

1:02 to know what the four of us just went through.

1:04 When this started on April 3rd, I wanted to thank God in public.

1:11 And I want to thank God again.

1:13 What struck me wasn't necessarily just Earth.

1:17 It was all the blackness around it.

1:21 Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe.

1:29 When you look up here, you're not looking at us.

1:31 We are a mirror reflecting you.

1:35 And if you like what you see, then just look a little deeper.

1:38 This is you.

1:40 These four history makers also broke several world records.

1:44 They traveled farther from Earth than any humans ever before.

1:48 They witnessed the far side of the moon.

1:50 They even saw a solar eclipse from behind the moon.

1:54 Our Pete Muntean has more on the successful return and what comes next.

1:59 We heard from NASA officials who said

2:01 that the Artemis 2 mission concluded with incredible accuracy,

2:06 a successful splashdown off the coast

2:09 of San Diego at 5:07:27 seconds Pacific time,

2:14 thus concluding a 9-day, 1-hour mission and orbit around the moon.

2:20 Astronauts Wiseman, Glover, Hanson,

2:23 and Cook were all plucked from the Orion capsule one by one by Navy divers,

2:28 then hoisted by helicopters and flown to the deck of the USS John P.

2:32 Murtha, where we were seeing them walk unassisted on the flight deck.

2:38 This concludes the most dangerous part of this mission.

2:42 The re-entry was surrounded by questions about whether or not the heat

2:47 shield and tweaks that NASA made to the re-entry angle would work.

2:53 Leading up to this re-entry,

2:55 there was concern that the heat shield that was seen

2:57 on Artemis 1 would have problems again in this crewed mission.

3:02 Artemis 1 was an uncrewed mission.

3:04 Now, NASA engineers will go over the heat shield of the Orion

3:09 spacecraft as it's hauled on board the USS John P.

3:12 Murtha.

3:12 NASA says this is all about the folks behind

3:16 the scenes like those at Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston,

3:19 which broke out into a celebration after

3:22 the 6-minute-long communications blackout ended during re-entry.

3:28 Some pretty big questions here,

3:29 but NASA says now they are focused on landing on the moon.

3:33 This massive test flight paves the way

3:35 for the Artemis 3 missions in 2027 and then

3:39 the Artemis 4 mission in 2028 with the goal

3:43 of putting Americans on the moon again.

3:46 Now to an update on US and Israel's ongoing war in Iran

3:50 and the outsized impact it's having on the global energy market.

3:54 The ongoing conflict has been felt around the world

3:58 and is causing chaos as far away as Ireland.

4:01 Roughly 1/3 of the country's gas stations have run out of fuel

4:05 and key roadways have been blocked as part of protests over rising fuel costs.

4:10 Our Niamh Kennedy has more on what's driving the surreal scenes.

4:15 This man appears to be walking

4:17 to the airport as tractors block roads across Ireland.

4:20 Farmers and hauliers across Ireland have been

4:23 protesting for 4 days over soaring fuel costs.

4:26 Convoys of tractors have clogged major roads across the country

4:29 from inner-city Dublin to fuel depots that supply much of the country.

4:33 And it's caused chaos.

4:35 At least 250 service stations have completely run out of fuel on Friday,

4:39 an industry body told CNN.

4:41 Now, the government has even asked the army to be on standby

4:44 to help clear blocked roads amid

4:45 concerns that emergency services could be delayed.

4:48 Protesters say rising diesel prices are pushing them to the brink

4:52 and that government measures to cut fuel costs haven't gone far enough.

4:56 The price hikes are tied in part to the war in Iran,

4:59 which has disrupted oil supplies.

5:02 Time for 10-second trivia.

5:04 What is a group of penguins called on land?

5:08 Is it a herd, a flock, a colony, or a troop?

5:15 Now, if you said colony, happy feet.

5:18 Once they're swimming together,

5:19 the penguins are often called a raft because they often

5:23 float and move as a group on the water surface.

5:27 Climate change is pushing two iconic species closer to extinction.

5:32 Emperor penguins for one and Antarctic fur seals are now both

5:37 listed as endangered by the International Union for the conservation of nature.

5:42 The animals were added to the group's red list,

5:44 the world's most comprehensive census of threatened

5:47 species and their causes of their decline.

5:51 Factors like warming ocean waters, melting sea ice,

5:54 and declining food availability are wreaking havoc on their ecosystem

5:59 and leading wildlife experts to sound the alarm.

6:02 They need that ice.

6:03 Yes, they swim and they hunt in the cold waters of Antarctica,

6:07 but they need that ice to nest, to raise their offspring, to breed, to sleep.

6:13 And what a loss it would be to our natural heritage to lose these species.

6:17 The same for these the Cape fur seal.

6:19 They're integral to the ecosystem in the cold waters of the south.

6:23 And the krill that they depend upon, this is the food that they eat is

6:28 going deeper and deeper and literally is beyond

6:31 their reach for a creature that is designed

6:34 to survive in the wilds of a watery ecosystem.

6:38 The IUCN report says fur seal populations

6:42 have shrunk by more than 50% since just

6:45 1999 and they fear emperor penguin populations could

6:49 be cut in half by the year 2080.

6:53 This weekend marked a key date in Christianity.

6:56 Sunday was Orthodox Easter.

6:58 Now, Orthodox Christians in parts of Eastern

7:01 Europe and Asia celebrate Easter Sunday

7:03 later than their Western counterparts due

7:06 to their use of the older Julian calendar.

7:09 And in Jerusalem, a remarkable event ushered in the holy holiday.

7:14 A single flame was shared by hundreds of worshipers

7:17 as they celebrated at one of the faith's holiest sites.

7:21 Our Oren Liebermann attended the Holy Fire ceremony at Jerusalem's Church

7:26 of the Holy Sepulchre for an up-close look at the ancient tradition.

7:32 This is Holy Fire Saturday here inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

7:36 and it's one of the most beautiful ceremonies in the Old City of Jerusalem.

7:40 It comes one day before Orthodox Easter.

7:45 Church leaders will enter the tomb of Jesus Christ right

7:47 here behind me and they will come out with a flame,

7:51 fire that's supposed to be lit by the spirit of Jesus Christ.

7:55 That single flame, as it comes out,

7:57 is then spread around, as you can see here behind me,

8:00 through worshipers who have been waiting all morning,

8:03 chanting, saying prayers here inside the church.

8:06 And then they spread it throughout not only inside the church here,

8:10 but the hundreds, if not thousands, who are waiting outside.

8:13 This is a religious ceremony that has happened for a thousand years here

8:17 in Jerusalem and it it is one of the most remarkable to see.

8:22 More than 300 items from Queen Elizabeth II's wardrobe are now

8:27 on display in Buckingham Palace to mark 100 years since her birth.

8:32 Queen Elizabeth II, her life and style,

8:35 showcases fashion from nearly a century of her royal life,

8:38 including dresses, tiaras, and even her wedding necklace.

8:42 More than half of the items have never been exhibited before.

8:46 The curator says the exhibition explores every decade

8:49 of the Queen's life from birth until her death.

8:58 Today's story getting a 10 out of 10,

9:00 a 6-year-old in Pittsburgh is using her love for coloring

9:04 to show love for kids who are battling cancer.

9:08 Here's the story.

9:09 Kaylin Lundell heard an ad on the radio about St.

9:12 Jude Children's Hospital and it stuck with her.

9:15 Reminder, she's only 6 years old.

9:18 She says it isn't fair that some kids have to face

9:20 so much pain and she wanted to do something about it.

9:23 So, Kaylin and her mom launched Draw for a Dream and they've organized art

9:28 auctions where kids' creations are what's

9:31 for sale and going to the highest bidders.

9:34 Bids will start at $100 with every dollar going to St.

9:38 Jude's.

9:39 I just don't want their life to be hard for them.

9:43 It's not fair for them.

9:45 Kaylin aims to raise $100,000 at the end of this and is hoping

9:50 her campaign can make a difference in the lives of families in need.

9:54 All right, superstars.

9:55 I've got two shout-outs for you today.

9:57 First up, Mr.

9:58 Galloway and Mr.

9:59 Malachi at Scott Highlands Middle School in Apple Valley, Minnesota.

10:04 Thank you so much for including us in your classroom.

10:07 And we also have a shout-out for Ms.

10:09 Solomon at Sheldon High School in Eugene, Oregon.

10:12 Thank you so much for subscribing to our YouTube channel.

10:15 And thank you for joining me today.

10:17 Coy will be back tomorrow.

10:19 I'm Allison Chinchar and this is CNN 10.