The Artemis II astronauts successfully completed their mission by landing in the Pacific Ocean near Southern California on Friday evening, marking a significant milestone for space exploration.

In Chicago, space enthusiasts gathered with anticipation to witness the historic event of the mission’s splashdown, celebrating this remarkable achievement in lunar exploration.

For one academic at the University of Illinois, this event was a particularly meaningful milestone.

LIVE COVERAGE: Artemis II concludes its lunar mission with a splashdown in the Pacific, symbolizing NASA’s renewed lunar exploration efforts.

Dr. Joseph Gonzalez, an aerospace engineering professor at the University of Illinois and a Chicago native, has dedicated nearly a decade to the Artemis program. His work is now inspiring both his students and aspiring young scientists.

“I am a firm believer in the mission’s goals,” Dr. Gonzalez stated. “Returning to the moon to establish habitats and enable our astronauts to remain there, rather than just visit, is a venture I wholeheartedly support.”

For Dr. Gonzalez, watching Artemis II’s journey has been incredible.

Gonzalez grew up in Little Village. He worked on the Artemis program for nearly a decade.

Last week, he took his students to see the Artemis II launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

“This orange section of the rocket all the way down to engine that’s called the core stage. That’s what powers up the rocket, in addition to the outside ones the solid rocket boosters. So I was part of the team and the systems engineering person for this part of it,” Dr. Gonzalez said. “I’ve done materials engineering. I’ve done fluids testing. I’ve done production support system engineering, and then also served on the chief engineering board for the program.”

He and many others were anxiously waiting for Artemis II to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego Friday evening.

That excitement was felt at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry and Adler Planetarium in Chicago.

“Maybe the most interesting is the descriptions the astronauts had of what they were seeing out the window,” said Andrew Johnston, Adler Planetarium Vice President of Museum Experience and Collections. “These people went around the far side of the moon and back and they saw the view that no human has ever seen before.”

Dr. Voula Saridakis, Head Curator and NASA Solar System Ambassador at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, joined ABC7 to discuss the Artemis II splashdown.

“The fact that they were able to capture this data, capture these images that they’ll eventually share with the world is going to be absolutely stunning,” Dr. Saridakis said.

The mission is inspiring future engineers, like Adler Planetarium visitor Nevan Mcilwee.

“I’ve been interested in space since I was a child,” Mcilwee said. “But seeing the return, seeing us return to the moon its definitely been inspiring me to look into opportunities that are available for me to get involved.”

The diversity of the crew on the mission has also been inspiring for the elementary school students of Heidi West, who was also visiting the Adler Planetarium.

“They’re really loving seeing that representation of cultures, different cultures, different nationalities, coming together and just exploring the beauty of the universe,” West said.

As for what’s next for Dr. Gonzalez, he says he enjoys teaching but is not ruling out becoming an astronaut one day. He welcomes the opportunity to visit space.

The Adler Planetarium issued the following statement on Friday’s Artemis II splashdown:
“Today, the Artemis II crew safely splashed down in the Pacific after their historic test flight around the Moon. We look forward to sharing the latest discoveries, moments, and milestones from lunar science and exploration with our guests in real time. Congratulations to NASA, the crew of Artemis II, NASA’s international and commercial partners, and to everyone on the ground whose years-long work made the mission possible!”