Splashdown! Long Islanders take in Artemis II's return to earth at Uniondale's Cradle of Aviation Museum

As he sat with his grandmother applauding the return of the first batch of astronauts who ventured to the moon in more than half a century, Ryan Canedo felt hope for the next generation of space explorers — which he hoped could include him.

“It’s nice to see there was no problem, they landed safely," Canedo, 10, of Nesconset, said. “It’s a big step. I think in a few years we’ll be able to get to Mars."

The clapping and cheering from the crowd of about 100 gathered at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale began shortly before 8 p.m., when the four crew members of Artemis II communicated for the first time since a six-minute communication blackout during their descent.

Several even bigger rounds of applause accompanied the deployment of parachutes starting at 8:04 p.m. But the right-on-schedule 8:07 p.m. splashdown of the Orion craft into the Pacific Ocean off San Diego caused the loudest raucous.

For about an hour Friday night, those who gathered at the Uniondale museum — some old enough to remember watching the Apollo missions, others barely old enough to ride roller coasters, let alone rocket ships — all stared up not at the sky, but the NASA live feed projected high on a wall above one of the museum’s many space exhibits.

Whatever worries they had, stemming either from memories of the Space Shuttle Challenger or Columbia disasters or news of the concerning heat shield protecting the Artemis crew, washed away with smiles during splashdown.

Cradle of Aviation Museum president Andrew Parton said he was “a little nervous" ahead of splashdown, but remained hopeful the astronauts would be safe.

“I don’t think there’s any space mission you can go in with 100% confidence," Parton said earlier in the evening. “It’s a dangerous endeavor no matter what you do."

At about 7:34 p.m., a handful of audience members cheered as the capsule carrying the astronauts' vehicle decoupled from the rest of Integrity. The remains of the craft will "disintegrate into the atmosphere," Parton said.

“It will take time for the Navy to go out there and secure the capsule before they open the hatch and get them to the rendezvous with the ship," he added of what would happen after splashdown.

Parton is excited to learn about what the astronauts discovered on the dark side of the moon. He noted that could be a viable area for a moon base for an eventual exploration of Mars. 

Many of those gathered at the museum were similarly thinking about what comes next for not just space exploration, but all scientific advancement. While Kye Weaver described his son Anthony, 10, whom he brought to the watch party Friday evening as more of a geography buff than a space fanatic like himself, he felt it was important for his son to watch the historic landing.

“The new geography is going to be the Moon, it’s going to be Mars," Weaver, 42, of Valley Stream, said. “I think this is a great opportunity for him to learn more and be a part of history."