Artemis II astronauts return to Earth
The Artemis II astronauts have successfully returned to Earth after completing their historic lunar‑flyby mission. Their Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on April 10, 2026, concluding about 10 days in space.
Key details of the return
-
The crew consisted of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist), plus Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency.
-
Orion re‑entered Earth’s atmosphere at roughly 34,000 feet per second (about 38,000 km/h), endured several minutes of plasma blackout, and then deployed parachutes before a controlled ocean splashdown.
-
After splashdown, the capsule was recovered by the U.S. Navy, the astronauts were hoisted out, and they underwent medical checks and post‑flight functional tests to assess how their bodies adapted to going so far from Earth and returning.
Mission significance
Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed lunar flyby since Apollo 17 in 1972, flying around the Moon’s far side and reaching a record distance of about 252,000 miles from Earth.
This mission serves as a critical test for the Orion spacecraft and life‑support systems, directly paving the way for Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts near the lunar south pole.
