WAXHAW, N.C. — When the Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Sunday, it marked the end of NASA's Artemis I mission.

The historic 25-day trip is just the beginning of putting humans back on the moon and one day Mars.

One man in North Carolina watched with a unique perspective.

Ted Viar has worked remotely with NASA for 15 years from his Waxhaw home

He was part of the Orion vehicle team, which will carry humans to the moon in future missions

NASA has a presence is almost all 50 states

"There's a lot of folks that did a lot of hard work to get us where we are now, and it's very rewarding to be part of that history," said Ted Viar, a member of the Orion vehicle team."There's a lot of folks that did a lot of hard work to get us where we are now, and it's very rewarding to be part of that history," said Ted Viar, a member of the Orion vehicle team.

Viar works remote from Waxhaw, North Carolina as a data integration analyst for Barrios Technology, a company NASA contracted to help lead human space flight. His colleagues often wonder why he chooses to work from the Union County town of about 21,000 instead of Texas or Florida, where all the action is.

Viar says he likes life in North Carolina. It's where he raised his family, and he gets to watch his son pitch for High Point University.

"I'm very fortunate over the past 15 years to have been working remote with NASA. I get to travel to the different centers," he said. "I've worked with a lot of amazing people, but none more than the current team I work for down at Johnson Space Center."

Though Orion's back on Earth, the work doesn't stop. Some of the hardware will be removed to be reused in the next mission. The capsule itself will undergo testing and analysis the next couple of months.

Viar plans to continue most of the work from his home. 

"We've proven you can work remote and still get meaningful work done," Viar said. "I think that (remote work) is very possible for future folks that would like to work for NASA."