April 10, 2026 ~ NASA’s Artemis II astronauts safely returned to Earth Friday evening, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California and closing the first crewed mission around the Moon in more than half a century. The successful landing marks a major milestone in the United States’ return to deep‑space human exploration.
The Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, parachuted into the ocean at 8:07 p.m. EDT after a blistering re‑entry that saw the capsule hit the upper atmosphere at nearly 25,000 mph. Thick plasma briefly cut off communications during a planned six‑minute blackout before orange‑and‑white parachutes deployed and slowed the craft for a textbook splashdown. NASA quickly confirmed the crew was “green,” signaling all astronauts were healthy and safe
A U.S. Navy recovery team aboard the USS John P. Murtha retrieved the capsule as helicopters hovered overhead. One by one, astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen were helped from the spacecraft for initial medical checks before beginning their journey back to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Photo credit to © Craig Bailey / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
