science
NASA's Artemis II Mission Nears Completion with Scheduled Pacific Ocean Splashdown
NASA's Artemis II mission, a 10-day crewed flight around the moon, is approaching its end after launching on April 1 from Florida. The four-person crew aboard the Orion spacecraft conducted a flyby of the moon on April 6, reaching a distance of 4,067 miles from its far side. The mission concludes with a splashdown off the coast of San Diego, California, on April 10 at approximately 8:07 p.m. ET.
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NASA's Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight test of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System, launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission involved four astronauts who traveled around the moon without landing. It marks the farthest distance from Earth for a crewed mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The crew completed a flyby of the moon's far side. During the outbound and lunar phases, the astronauts captured images of Earth, the moon, and surrounding space. Ahead of splashdown, iconic photos from Artemis II have been highlighted.
On the return journey, the Orion spacecraft utilized Earth's gravity for a slingshot maneuver to guide it home, reducing the need for propulsion fuel. The spacecraft reached its halfway point on the return leg during the ninth day of the mission. Entering the ninth day of their ten-day mission, NASA’s Artemis ll has now reached its halfway po...
The Orion capsule is scheduled to reenter Earth's atmosphere.
Reentry will expose the spacecraft to temperatures of approximately 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The crew will be recovered by a U.S. Navy vessel for transport to shore. The crew will then board an aircraft to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for reunion with families.
NASA provides an online tracker and mobile app for monitoring the spacecraft's location, speed, and distance from Earth and the moon. The app includes an augmented reality feature allowing users to view the Orion's position relative to Earth by moving their smartphone. Live streams of the splashdown are available through NASA channels.
This mission serves as a precursor to future lunar landings under the Artemis program.
II is the second mission in NASA's Artemis program, following the uncrewed Artemis I in 2022.
