MILLINGTON, Tenn. – When NASA’s Artemis II crew splashed down in the Pacific upon their return to Earth from their flight around the moon, U.S. Navy sailors stood ready to welcome them home.
Petty Officer 1st Class Mark Rabanal, husband of San Diego resident Shauri Ebba, was among the sailors who supported the recovery of the crew and the Orion space capsule.
Rabanal, a 2013 graduate of Desert Pines High School, serves the U.S. Navy assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23, which airlifted the Artemis II crew back to USS John P. Murtha for further evaluations and then back to land.
Rabanal served as a maintenance supervisor for HSC-23 during the mission.
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in San Diego.
“Growing up, I learned to always be nice to others and always help, no matter how small it could be, because you never know how much that small thing could matter to them,” Rabanal said.
Rabanal joined the Navy more than 11 years ago. Today, Rabanal serves as an aviation structural mechanic.
“I joined the Navy to explore the world,” Rabanal said. “I am the first one in the family to join the service.”
NASA’s Artemis II mission sent four astronauts – NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen – on a nearly 10-day flight around the moon in the Orion space capsule, marking the first time in more than 50 years that humans journeyed to deep space. The crew splashed down just after 5 p.m. (PDT) on April 10 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, where Navy sailors who had been training for this recovery mission were waiting aboard John P. Murtha.
In addition to transporting the crew, members of HSC-23 also provided NASA with imagery support from their MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopters by tracking the Orion space capsule as it traveled through Earth’s atmosphere.
Based at Naval Air Station North Island, California, the “Wildcards” of HSC-23 fly and maintain the MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter, the Navy’s most advanced rotary wing sea combat platform. The Navy MH-60S is able to perform many different missions, but some of the most common operations include airborne mine countermeasures, anti-surface warfare, combat search and rescue, supply support and medical evacuations.
Rabanal has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service.
“I’m proud that I’ve become independent and am slowly building my own family,” Rabanal said.
This year, the Navy is commemorating its contribution to the nation’s defense as the United States celebrates 250 years of independence. According to Navy officials, for more than 250 years, the Navy has sailed the globe defending freedom and protecting prosperity.
With 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber-optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to recruiting and retaining talented people from across the rich fabric of America.
“Serving in the Navy means a lot to me,” Rabanal said. “I’ve learned a lot over the years, and I’m trying to pass it down to the new generation.”
Rabanal is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I want to thank my wife, Shauri Ebba, for her endless support and understanding,” Rabanal said. “I want to thank my mom in the Philippines and my sister in Las Vegas for all their support and prayers. To my son, Caine Rabanal: I hope one day you’ll find out that your dad was a part of the Astronaut Recovery Team.”