Artemis II astronauts return home after historic lunar flyby with Pacific splashdown
The Artemis II astronauts traveled farther than any humans before them, capturing striking views of the moon before a safe return to Earth.
After splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, the four history-making astronauts from the Artemis II were whisked from a raft to the USS John P. Murtha by Navy helicopters in a precisely executed mission.
NASA’s Artemis II mission came to a successful close Friday evening as the Orion spacecraft splashed down off the coast of San Diego, ending a nearly 700,000-mile historic journey around the moon and marking a major step toward returning humans to the lunar surface.
The landing capped a nearly 10-day mission that marked the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years, with astronauts traveling farther from Earth than any humans before.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen were helped out of their spacecraft, nicknamed Integrity, by NASA and U.S. Navy crews as the world cheered on their return home.
Ben Dickow, rear left, president and executive director of the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey, CA and staff member Jared Head cheer on the successful landing of Artemis II during a watch party at the center on Friday, April 10, 2026. (Photo Credit: Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
In the final hours before re-entry, the crew was treated to a stunning view of Earth from space. Wiseman, the Artemis II mission commander, described the moment as the spacecraft closed in on home.
“Houston, Christina’s got an amazing view of home planet out the side hatch window…It’s got a bright blue hue to it. It’s beautiful,” Wiseman said.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; left, Christina Koch, mission specialist; CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist; and NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, right, pose for a group photo after viewing the Orion spacecraft in the well deck of USS John P. Murtha, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. The quartet splashed down Friday, April 10 at 5:07 p.m. PDT (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
Earlier in the mission, astronauts also reflected on their close pass by the moon, describing its stark and rugged appearance during the historic flyby.
“I just had an overwhelming sense of looking at the moon,” Koch said. “Something just drew me into the lunar landscape and it became real.”
As the Artemis II crew came close to passing behind the Moon, they captured this image of a crescent Earth setting on the moon. (NASA)
That vivid perspective came as Orion traveled around the far side of the moon, a vantage point not seen by humans in decades.
"It was hard to speak," Glover said, adding he felt like he was "walking around" on the moon.
Commander Reid Wiseman (L) takes a photo with his family as he walks out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building ahead of the launch of the Artemis II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on April 01, 2026 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Along the journey, there were moments of awe, groundbreaking science and deep emotional weight for the crew. After their first close-up views of the lunar surface, the astronauts chose to name a crater after Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll Taylor Wiseman, who died of cancer in 2020 as plans for the Artemis II mission were coming together.
People watch as NASA's Artemis II Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center on April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
A smooth countdown culminated in the April 1 launch of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, the first time the NASA moon system carried a crew.
The return to Earth marked the most intense phase of the mission. Orion barreled into the atmosphere at speeds nearing 24,000 mph and endured temperatures around 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit during re-entry. A planned communications blackout lasting about six minutes occurred as plasma built up around the capsule.
Parachutes deployed in sequence as the spacecraft slowed, guiding Orion to a controlled splashdown in the Pacific, where recovery teams were standing by.
The mission also highlighted both the technical challenges and milestones of deep-space travel. Artemis II became the first lunar mission equipped with a functioning toilet, though astronauts had to troubleshoot issues early in the flight before it was shut down ahead of re-entry.
This image from video provided by NASA shows the Artemis II crew, from left, Commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch, pilot Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen as they answer media questions during a video conference Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (NASA via AP)
The crew adjusted to sleeping in a vehicle about the size of two vans for the nearly 10-day flight. Koch said she hung from the ceiling like a bat, and Wiseman described sleeping under the controls.
“It’s more comfortable than you would think,” Wiseman said.
Earlier in the mission, Orion surpassed the distance record set during Apollo 13, reaching more than 252,000 miles from Earth before looping around the far side of the moon and beginning its return.
With a safe splashdown and successful test of critical spacecraft systems, Artemis II marks a major step toward NASA’s goal of returning astronauts to the moon later this decade.
