After completing its mission of orbiting the moon, the Artemis II is now headed back home to Earth.
Launching April 1 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the 10-day mission primarily serves as a test flight, with the four-person crew testing systems and hardware ahead of a future moon landing. Under the Artemis campaign, NASA intends to eventually return astronauts to the surface of the moon for the first time since the Apollo missions ended in 1972.
Here’s when the Artemis II will return to Earth and how you can watch its splashdown at the end of this week.
When does Artemis II reenter Earth’s atmosphere? What time is Artemis 2 splashdown?
The Artemis II crew launched from NASA’s Space Launch System rocket at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1, 2026, hitching a ride on the Orion spacecraft. The Orion capsule is due to reenter Earth’s atmosphere on Friday, April 10. It will make a water landing around 8:07 p.m. EST in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California.
See timeline for Artemis II’s return to Earth
According to the Austin American-Statesman, here is the timeline for April 10 converted to EST:
What happens when Artemis II reenters Earth’s atmosphere?
When reentry occurs, Orion’s service module, which is responsible for propelling and maneuvering the vehicle through space, will separate and burn up, exposing the crew module’s heat shield that protects the astronauts from the 3,000-degree Fahrenheit conditions the vehicle will endure.
Once Orion blazes through Earth’s atmosphere, the protective heat shield will be jettisoned to make way for the parachutes to deploy and slow the vehicle.
After splashdown, the crew will exit the vehicle onto a U.S. Navy recovery vessel within about two hours.
Will Artemis II splashdown be livestreamed or televised?
The Artemis II splashdown on Friday, April 10, 2026, will be streamed live on NASA+, the NASA app, and its YouTube channel.
See photos of moon, space from Artemis II
How far are the Artemis II astronauts from Earth?
As of the morning of Wednesday, April 8, the Orion spacecraft, on which the Artemis II astronauts are aboard, was approaching 209,100 miles from Earth, with the moon nearly 74,000 miles behind them, according to NASA’s online tracker.
The astronauts are in the middle of a four-day journey back to Earth, using our planet’s gravity to naturally “slingshot” Orion back home, negating the need for propulsion or much fuel.
Where is Artemis II now? Location tracker
Want to follow the astronauts along the Artemis II lunar journey? NASA has an Artemis II tracker available online and in its mobile app that lets users see where Orion is, how fast it’s traveling, and how far the spacecraft is from Earth and the moon.
The mobile version for smartphones even includes an augmented reality feature that allows users to move their phones to see where Orion is relative to Earth.
Want more? Follow NASA on social media
Get the latest imagery and live updates from the Artemis II mission at:
Contributing: Cheryl McCloud and Jennifer Sangalang, USA TODAY NETWORK Florida
Samantha Neely is a trending reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida, covering pop culture, theme parks, breaking news and more. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: When does Artemis II crew return to Earth? See timeline, photos
Reporting by Samantha Neely and Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Florida Today
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