- NASA’s Artemis II crew completed a lunar flyby and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean
- Orion spacecraft landed near San Diego with NASA and US military recovery teams present
- Crew includes astronauts Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen
NASA's Artemis II crew completed their historic lunar flyby mission and made a successful splash down in the Pacific Ocean early Saturday, marking their return to Earth.
The Orion spacecraft carrying the crew achieved a successful splashdown in the pacific near San Diego, California. A joint Nasa and US military recovery team was on site to receive the astronauts and provide medical support.
The crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
Welcome home Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy! 🫶
— NASA (@NASA) April 11, 2026
The Artemis II astronauts have splashed down at 8:07pm ET (0007 UTC April 11), bringing their historic 10-day mission around the Moon to an end. pic.twitter.com/1yjAgHEOYl
Within two hours of landing, the crew will be on-boarded to the USS Murtha, where they will undergo medical evaluations. After this, they will be flown back to shore and then transported by aircraft to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston
ALSO READ: NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission In Over 50 Years — All You Need To Know
The Artemis II mission began on April 1 with the launch of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m.
During the mission, the crew carried out a lunar flyby, marking the first time humans travelled near the Moon in over 50 years. Throughout the journey, astronauts and ground teams conducted evaluations of the Orion spacecraft's systems in deep space, including tests involving direct crew interaction with the spacecraft.
Artemis II was primarily a test flight to ensure the spacecraft, crew, and mission systems can handle a journey around the moon. It sent the Orion spacecraft into space. The astronauts flew past the moon, including its far side, and have now returned to Earth.
During the mission, Orion performed a trans-lunar burn, a controlled propulsion manoeuvre that sets the spacecraft on a precise path to fly around the moon. For about 40 minutes, during this time, the crew was out of communication with Earth while passing behind the moon. This journey was the farthest distance from Earth ever reached by humans.
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