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Artemis II Crew Splashes Down Safely, Completing First Lunar Flyby in 50 Years

The safe return signals confidence in Orion’s heat shield following earlier concerns.

NASA’s Orion spacecraft with Artemis II crewmembers NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist aboard was seen as it splashed down at 5:07 p.m. PDT in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, Friday, April 10, 2026. NASA’s Artemis II mission took Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
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The Artemis II crew members Mission Specialist Christina Koch, left, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover, pause for a group photo inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home on April 7, 2026.

Overview

  • The splashdown Friday ended NASA’s first crewed trip to lunar distance since 1972 and set a new human distance mark of 252,756 miles.
  • After landing in the Pacific off San Diego, Navy teams on the USS John P. Murtha recovered Orion and the crew reported “four green” condition.
  • A sheath of ionized gas cut radio contact for about six minutes during reentry, and parachutes then slowed the capsule for a gentle ocean landing.
  • NASA saw heat‑shield erosion on the uncrewed Artemis I in 2022, so for Artemis II it used a faster, steeper entry to shorten peak heating and will now inspect the shield in detail.
  • Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen begin medical checks and debriefs after milestones that include the first woman, first person of color, and first Canadian to travel beyond low‑Earth orbit.