Today, Friday April 10, 2026, the Artemis II mission concludes with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. The Orion capsule carrying four astronauts is scheduled to reenter Earth's atmosphere around 8:07 PM ET (2:07 AM CEST Saturday).
The Mission
The 10-day mission took Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen around the Moon and back. It was the first crewed lunar flyby since Apollo 17 in December 1972.
The Critical Moment
Reentry is the most dangerous phase of the mission. The Orion capsule will hit Earth's atmosphere at approximately 40,000 km/h (25,000 mph) and temperatures will reach over 2,700 degrees Celsius on the heat shield. This is precisely the test Artemis II was designed for: proving that the heat shield and life support systems can safely return a crew from lunar distance.
What Comes Next
A successful splashdown paves the way for Artemis III, the mission that will put humans back on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. NASA plans Artemis III for 2027-2028 using SpaceX's Starship as the lunar lander.
The splashdown will be streamed live on NASA+, the NASA app, and YouTube.
Sources: NASA, USA Today, The Guardian, Desert Sun (10.04.2026).