NASA's Orion spacecraft landed on Earth on Saturday after its journey around the Moon, according to official sources. The Artemis II crew splashed down off the coast of San Diego, California, as reported by multiple media outlets, with the spacecraft descending toward Earth with the help of three parachutes and landing as planned in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, according to official sources. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Victor Glover, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen returned to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean around 8:07 p.m. EDT, NASA said, and on April 10, 2026, NASA's Orion spacecraft deployed parachutes and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, according to official sources.
The Artemis II crew accomplished many milestones on their nearly 10-day mission, surpassing the Apollo 13 record for farthest crewed spaceflight and capturing views of the far side of the Moon, according to official sources. The Artemis II mission traveled further from Earth than any humans have before, multiple reports indicate, with the crew traveling 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth, breaking the Apollo 13 record. The mission flew a total of 694,481 miles (1,117,658 kilometers), NASA said, and the Artemis II mission's spacecraft, Orion, broke the record for human travel at about 13:56 EDT (18:56 BST) on Monday, beating a record of 248,655 miles (400,000km) held since 1970 by the Apollo 13 mission, according to research sources. This discrepancy in the reported distance affects the accuracy of the record claim, with one report stating the crew traveled 252,756 miles, while another notes the record was broken at a specific time without specifying the exact distance beyond surpassing Apollo 13's 248,655 miles.
The most critical part of the journey is when the spacecraft re-enters Earth's atmosphere.
The Orion capsule re-entered Earth's atmosphere at speeds around 24,000 mph, multiple reports indicate, though a discrepancy exists as another report states the re-entry speed was 23,839 mph, affecting the precision of technical details. Temperatures during re-entry reached up to 2,760°C (5,000°F), according to multiple reports, and the crew experienced a communications blackout during re-entry due to plasma buildup, sources said. Parachutes deployed to slow the Orion capsule before splashdown, multiple reports indicate, and the crew conducted trajectory correction burns during re-entry, according to sources. The crew module separated from the service module before re-entry, multiple reports indicate, and according to Sveriges Radio Nyheter, Linn Bolt-Christmas described the re-entry as the most critical part of the journey, adding that if they succeed in the re-entry, the entire mission is a total success.
The Artemis II crew consisted of Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen, multiple reports indicate. The crew was recovered by the USS John P. Murtha naval ship, according to multiple reports, and following splashdown, recovery teams retrieved the crew using helicopters and delivered them to the USS John P. Murtha, official sources said. Once aboard, the astronauts underwent post-mission medical evaluations in the ship's medical bay before traveling back to shore to meet with an aircraft bound for NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, according to official sources, though the detailed results of these evaluations have not been disclosed. The crew refused wheelchairs and walked across the deck after splashdown, multiple reports indicate.
If they succeed in the re-entry, the entire mission is a total success.
Artemis II conducted a lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, capturing an image of the Moon and Earth aligned, according to official sources. The spacecraft passed within 4,066 miles of the lunar surface during its closest approach, official sources said, and soon afterwards the spacecraft dipped to within a few thousand miles of the lunar surface, according to research sources. The crew lost contact with the Earth, as expected, for 40 minutes as they traveled behind the Moon, research sources indicate, and the crew witnessed a total eclipse of the Sun as the Moon blocked out its light, according to research sources. As the spacecraft approached and the Moon swelled in its windows, the astronauts began working through a checklist of things to record on its surface, research sources said, and the astronauts took images with an array of digital cameras and, as NASA had briefed, made sketches and recorded their own audio descriptions of what they saw, according to research sources. The spacecraft was not planning to land on the Moon but fly around its far side, the side which is never visible from Earth, research sources indicate, and satellites have photographed the far side before, but the astronauts were the first human eyes to see some parts of the far side's surface and its vast craters and lava plains, according to research sources, though specific scientific data collected during the flyby have not been fully disclosed.
The crew named a crater after Commander Reid Wiseman's late wife, Carroll Taylor Wiseman, multiple reports indicate. Fellow astronaut Jeremy Hansen made a request to NASA mission control to name two craters they observed on the Moon "both with our naked eye and with our long lens", according to research sources. One crater they asked to be called Integrity - the name the astronauts gave to the Orion capsule they are traveling in, research sources said, and the other crater request was to commemorate Wiseman's late wife Carroll, who died in 2020 of cancer, according to research sources. The four astronauts were seen hugging on the live feed from their capsule after the request, research sources indicate, and according to BBC News - Science, Commander Reid Wiseman described the crew sharing maple cookies and reflecting during the mission.
The crew shared maple cookies and reflected during the mission.
The first crewed test flight under NASA's Artemis program is underway, according to official sources. Four Artemis II astronauts are flying aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back. The mission tests how the spacecraft's systems operate in a deep space environment, official sources said, and Artemis II astronauts are putting the Orion spacecraft through a series of planned tests to evaluate systems, procedures, and performance in deep space, according to official sources. They conducted manual spacecraft operations and monitored automated activities; evaluating Orion's life-support, propulsion, and other systems, official sources said.
US President Donald Trump congratulated the crew on Truth Social, and President Trump asked the four astronauts what the most unforgettable part of their day had been, according to research sources. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney congratulated the crew. The Artemis II mission is part of a space race between the US and China, experts say.
As we surpass the furthest distance humans have ever traveled from planet Earth, we do so in honoring the extraordinary efforts and feats of our predecessors in human space exploration.
The Empire State Building honored the Artemis II astronauts with a red, white, and blue light display, multiple reports indicate.
The crew lifted off at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1 from launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to official sources. NASA's Artemis II mission is an approximately 10-day journey around the Moon including launch, a lunar flyby, and a safe splashdown off the coast of San Diego, official sources said, and the crew was expected to travel a total of 695,081 miles from launch to splashdown, according to official sources.
We saw sights that no human has ever seen, not even Apollo, and that was amazing for us.
Real-time coverage continues throughout the mission on NASA's YouTube channel, official sources said. NASA provides a separate live stream of views from the Orion spacecraft as bandwidth allows, as well as inside the capsule, according to official sources, and NASA provides the latest mission imagery online, official sources said. Daily mission status briefings are held live from Johnson Space Center in Houston through splashdown, except for Monday, April 6, due to lunar flyby activities, official sources indicate, and a list of activities is regularly updated online, according to official sources. The crew participated in live conversations throughout the mission, which were scheduled prior to their departure from Earth, official sources said, and NASA will provide the exact times of each downlink event and the latest mission coverage on the Artemis blog, according to official sources.
What specific technical issues, if any, were encountered during the re-entry and splashdown remain unclear, and the exact timeline and process for the astronauts' return to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston has not been detailed.
A number of years ago we started this journey.. and we lost a loved one and there's a feature on a really neat place on the moon... at certain times of the Moon's transit around Earth we will be able to see this from Earth.
How the success of Artemis II impacts the schedule and planning for future Artemis missions, including Moon landings and Mars missions, is yet to be fully assessed.
Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build a foundation for crewed missions to Mars, NASA said. The Artemis II mission is a stepping stone toward future Moon landings and Mars missions, multiple reports indicate.
The crew's kit included two professional digital SLR cameras – one fitted with a wide‑angle lens, according to research sources.