Historic Artemis II Mission Ends With A Safe Splashdown
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NASA's Artemis II Orion spacecraft, carrying four astronauts, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near Southern California at 5:07 pm on April 10, 2026. Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen completed the 690,000-mile (1.1 million km) journey around the Moon in just over nine days. Their return marks the first time humans have made this trip since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
A perfect splashdown
Orion re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at speeds close to 25,000 miles (40,000 km) per hour. This is about 32 times the speed of sound. During re-entry, the astronauts briefly lost contact with NASA mission control. This is normal, as hot gases surrounding the spacecraft can block radio signals for a short time.
It took Orion just over 13 minutes to descend through the atmosphere. Then, a series of parachutes opened up. This helped slow down the spacecraft for a gentle splashdown in the ocean. Soon after, Navy divers helped the astronauts out of the capsule and onto a raft. From there, they were flown by helicopter to the recovery ship and then taken to shore. After medical checks, the astronauts were reunited with their families on April 11, 2026.
What's next?
NASA is now getting ready for the Artemis III mission. It will test how well Orion docks with other spacecraft in low-Earth orbit. This is an important step toward landing astronauts on the Moon. More details about the mission and its crew will be shared closer to the 2027 launch.
Resources: NPR.com, NASA.gov, CNN.com
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54 Comments
- bilybage-17573393818114 dayscool
- gisojusoheka14 daysI wish I could join NASA
- befihibowone14 daysI feel bad for the people that were on the challenger
- wejudezumaha8 daysSame here
thejack67bro14 daysThis is called HISTORY! So excited for Artemis 3 *v*
eyekonic_swifte15 daysI am so grateful that everyone came back to planet Earth safely with no issues. That is so cool! We watched history in the making!
covukigalodu15 daysso happy that they got back safely and how cool is that!!!!!
landdog15 daysawsome
matthewphyre15 daysI went to the beach to watch the splashdown in San Diego and it looked like a meteor coming down!
tipogohojote15 dayswow wow wow wow wow
leatrice15 daysreally cool
