NASA’s Artemis II Crew Prepares to Splash Down Off California Coast Friday After Successful Lunar Mission

Conservative News DailyApril 10, 2026

Arguably one of NASA’s most historic voyages, Artemis II completed a 10-day mission that carried it’s four-person crew farther from Earth than any humans have traveled before. The Orion capsule is slated to splash down off the coast of San Diego around 8:07 p.m. Eastern Time, with NASA providing a news release and live coverage via YouTube and various streaming platforms.

The mission crew-Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut jeremy Hansen-had flown around the Moon, reaching distances of about 248,655 miles from Earth (and a total mission distance approaching 252,756 miles).Recovery teams aboard the USS John P. Murtha are expected to extract the crew within a couple of hours of splashdown for post-mission medical checks before they head to Houston’s Johnson Space Center.

NASA outlined the reentry sequence: the service module separated from the Orion capsule at 7:33 p.m., reentry began at 7:37 p.m., followed by a six-minute communications blackout starting at 7:53 p.m. The capsule will deploy its drogues near 8,000 feet and three main parachutes around 6,000 feet, bringing it to a Pacific splashdown just off California’s coast. The mission has drawn widespread attention and commentary, including public remarks from the President and real-time updates from NASA and media coverage.

The four-person crew of Artemis II is slated to splash down off the coast of San Diego on Friday night after a 10-day voyage that took them farther into space than anyone has ever traveled before.

NASA said in a news release that the crew’s Orion capsule will hit the waters of the Pacific Ocean around 8:07 p.m. Eastern Time.

People can watch the splashdown on NASA’s YouTube livestream, and it will also be streaming on platforms like Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Netflix, HBO Max, and Roku, among others. No doubt, the major news networks like Fox News and CNN will be covering it live, too.

.@POTUS asks the Artemis II crew, “What is the most unforgettable part of this really historic day?”

Commander Reid Wiseman: “We saw sights… that no human has ever seen before — not even in Apollo.” pic.twitter.com/f3ThoGm91e

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 7, 2026

Within two hours of splashdown, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (commander of the mission), Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen will be extracted from the Orion capsule and flown to the USS John P. Murtha, which is an amphibious transport dock ship.

USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) is underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations supporting NASA’s Artemis II mission, standing ready to retrieve the crew and Orion spacecraft following splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. 🚀🌕

Artemis II marks the first crewed mission around the… pic.twitter.com/fVNjMh1F98

— U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (@INDOPACOM) April 9, 2026

“Recovery teams will retrieve the crew using helicopters, and once aboard the ship, the astronauts will undergo post‑mission medical evaluations before returning to shore to board an aircraft bound for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston,” NASA said.

Artemis II astronauts have traveled 252,756 miles from Earth, flown around the Moon, and observed the lunar surface like never before. Now, they’re coming home. 🌎

Watch the crew splash down on Friday, April 10, around 8:07pm ET (0007 UTC April 11). https://t.co/Ccsk5Z3HFS pic.twitter.com/QoJW2oYVFG

— NASA (@NASA) April 10, 2026

In their mission to the Moon and back, the Artemis II crew eclipsed the record for the farthest any human has traveled from the Earth, going 248,655 miles or about 4,070 miles more than the Apollo 13 flight did in 1970.

Hello, Moon. It’s great to be back.

Here’s a taste of what the Artemis II astronauts photographed during their flight around the Moon. Check out more photos from the mission: https://t.co/rzM1P0QbOl pic.twitter.com/6jWINHkDLh

— NASA (@NASA) April 7, 2026

The exact sequence of events during reentry, NASA said, will start with the service module separating from the Orion capsule at 7:33 p.m. The capsule will then reach the upper atmosphere southeast of Hawaii at 7:37 p.m. and will be in a six-minute communications blackout at 7:53 as plasma forms around the capsule during peak heating.

The crew is expected to experience up to 3.9 Gs pressing against them during reentry, i.e., around four times their body weight.

Artemis II faces its biggest test yet before returning home later today

From re-entry to splash down (7:54pm – 8:07pm ET):

• 400,000 ft. descent
• Max Temps: +5,000°F
• Top Speed: 23,864 mph
• 6-minute comms blackout

Orion essentially becomes a meteor for 13 minutes pic.twitter.com/bNeTbdjBgI

— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) April 10, 2026

NASA explained, “After emerging from blackout, Orion will jettison its forward bay cover, deploy its drogue parachutes near 22,000 feet at 8:03 p.m., and then unfurl its three main parachutes around 6,000 feet at 8:04 p.m. to slow the capsule for splashdown off the coast of San Diego.”