The NASA Artemis II crew – mission specialist Christina Koch, mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, commander Reid Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover – pose for a group photo inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home after a flyby of the far side of the moon on Monday.NASA/Reuters
04/10/26 15:47The crew’s official space jam playlist
The four-person crew of NASA’s Artemis II have curated a selection of wake-up songs that accompanied them on their historic journey around the moon, and some of their picks might surprise you.
In a video shared by NASA, the astronauts discuss how they chose their personal favourites, a tradition dating back to the earliest days of spaceflight. From Queen and David Bowie’s classic Under Pressure to Chappell Roan’s pop anthem Pink Pony Club, it’s an eclectic mix.
You can listen to the full playlist here.
04/10/26 15:31Where are the Artemis II astronauts landing?
– Globe staff
The astronauts are expected to land just off the coast of San Diego, Calif., in the world’s largest and deepest ocean: the Pacific.
Landing in water is generally considered to be safer than touching down on land. Not only does the ocean provide a natural cushion to absorb some of the capsule’s high-speed impact, but it also provides a larger target surface area.
04/10/26 15:12Watch: How Artemis II is expected to re-enter and splashdown
– Reuters
A NASA animation shows the expected reentry and splashdown to conclude the Artemis II mission today.
Reuters
04/10/26 15:03The final manoeuvre of Integrity completed
– Ivan Semeniuk
A view of NASA’s Orion spacecraft in the foreground, lit up by the sun, with the first-quarter moon visible behind it, as photographed by one of the cameras on the spacecraft’s solar arrays during the Artemis II lunar flyby on Monday.NASA/Reuters
Integrity has just concluded an 8-second engine burn — meant to be the final manoeuvre of a nearly 10-day journey that took it around the moon and back to Earth. Afterwards, crew commander Reid Wiseman could be heard giving a shout out to the Netherlands-based team that built the European Service Module which has powered, propelled and supplied Integrity during its flight.
The service module is scheduled to be jettisoned about 29 minutes before the capsule makes contact with Earth’s atmosphere.
04/10/26 14:32An astronaut’s guide to re-entry
– Globe staff
Want to know what it’s like to return to earth after a journey to space? Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is more than happy to respond to your queries.
Today, the former commander of the International Space Station took to the social media platform, X, to answer questions from curious citizens, including how loud re-entry is, and whether it will feel like a smooth or shaky ride for the astronauts.
04/10/26 14:29Crew about to embark on final preparations
– Ivan Semeniuk
NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman takes a moment during the seven-hour lunar observation period where the crew reported to the ground team their observations including colour nuances, April 6, 2026.NASA/Reuters
NASA’s Artemis II mission is reaching its finale today as its four astronauts prepare to return to Earth in their spacecraft dubbed Integrity.
The mission plan calls for the capsule to splash down in the Pacific Ocean this evening at about 8:07 ET. The crew is away and making final preparations, including for the last course correction burn that will keep them on track. This is expected at about 2:55 p.m. ET.
The busiest part of the process will begin about 7 p.m. ET with the descent through the atmosphere expected to last about 13 minutes.
You can read more about the sequence and about the capsule’s heat shield here.
04/10/26 14:17How the splashdown works, and what happens to the astronauts after
– Globe staff
Jared Daum, aerospace engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, displays the Orion spacecraft’s parachute system on April 9, 2026, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
The Artemis II splashdown is a precise, 14-minute, high-stakes procedure where the Orion capsule re-enters Earth’s atmosphere at roughly 25,000 mph, using a heat shield to survive 5,000°F (2760°C) temperatures before deploying 11 parachutes to slow to 17 mph for a Pacific Ocean landing.
Following the splashdown, recovery teams will retrieve the crew using helicopters and deliver them to the USS John P Murtha. Once aboard, the astronauts will undergo post-mission medical evaluations in the ship’s medical bay before travelling back to shore to meet with an aircraft bound for NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas.
04/10/26 14:00What time do the Artemis II astronauts return to Earth?
– Globe staff
The crew is currently slated to splashdown back on Earth at 8:07 p.m. ET, according to NASA.
However, the landing process is extremely precise, and the exact timing could change depending on several factors throughout the day.
Leading up to the big event, the crew will complete a number of tasks, including separation from the service module.
The spacecraft is expected to make first contact with the earth’s upper atmosphere at 7:53 p.m. The drogue parachutes will deploy at 8:03 p.m., slowing and stabilizing the capsule before the main parachutes deploy a minute later.
04/10/26 14:00How to track the Artemis II mission live
– Reet Arora
NASA’s Artemis Real-time Orbit Website (AROW) is allowing people to track Artemis II live as it progresses in unexplored airspace.
Anyone with internet access can track where Orion and the crew are, including their distance from Earth, distance from the moon, the mission duration, and more.
Access to AROW is available on:
04/10/26 14:00The mission’s flight path
– Ivan Semeniuk
NASA called the mission a “lunar flyby” because the spacecraft did not technically orbit around the moon. Instead, it traced a figure-8 loop that started on the east side of the moon (the left side as seen from the northern hemisphere) and swung around the back to the other side.
The collective gravitational pull of the Earth and moon together will send the spacecraft back toward Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean today.
Orion will travel more than
400,000 km from Earth and
could set a new record for
the farthest humans have
ever gone into space
Lift-off from Cape Canaveral
Two minutes after launch, boosters
separate followed by launch abort system
Eight minutes after launch ICPS and Orion
separate from Core stage. Orion’s solar
arrays unfurl
After 90-minute orbit, ICPS fires engines
to raise Orion to higher Earth orbit.
Crew begins multiple system checks
If everything is in order, Orion separates
from ICPS.Then, astronauts manually fly
Orion toward and away from ICPS, practising
proximity operations for future missions
Around 23 hours later, Orion Service Module
carries out Translunar Injection (TLI) burn –
sending Orion on a trajectory around
the moon
After lunar flyby on Day 6, gravity draws
Orion back toward Earth
Just before re-entry, Orion’s crew module
separates from service module
Capsule re-enters atmosphere at speed of
32,187 km/h and temperatures of up to
2,200°C
Series of parachutes slow craft before
splashdown in Pacific Ocean
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, Sources: GRAPHIC NEWS;
NASA; ESA; Lockheed Martin
Orion will travel more than
400,000 km from Earth and
could set a new record for
the farthest humans have
ever gone into space
Lift-off from Cape Canaveral
Two minutes after launch, boosters
separate followed by launch abort system
Eight minutes after launch ICPS and Orion
separate from Core stage. Orion’s solar
arrays unfurl
After 90-minute orbit, ICPS fires engines
to raise Orion to higher Earth orbit.
Crew begins multiple system checks
If everything is in order, Orion separates
from ICPS.Then, astronauts manually fly
Orion toward and away from ICPS, practising
proximity operations for future missions
Around 23 hours later, Orion Service Module
carries out Translunar Injection (TLI) burn –
sending Orion on a trajectory around
the moon
After lunar flyby on Day 6, gravity draws
Orion back toward Earth
Just before re-entry, Orion’s crew module
separates from service module
Capsule re-enters atmosphere at speed of
32,187 km/h and temperatures of up to
2,200°C
Series of parachutes slow craft before
splashdown in Pacific Ocean
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, Sources: GRAPHIC NEWS;
NASA; ESA; Lockheed Martin
After lunar flyby on Day 6,
gravity draws Orion back
toward Earth
Just before re-entry, Orion’s
crew module separates from
service module
Capsule re-enters atmosph-
ere at speed of 32,187 km/h
and temperatures of up to
2,200°C
Series of parachutes slow
craft before splashdown in
Pacific Ocean
Orion will travel more than
400,000 km from Earth and
could set a new record for
the farthest humans have
ever gone into space
Lift-off from
Cape Canaveral
Two minutes after launch,
boosters separate followed
by launch abort system
Eight minutes after launch,
ICPS and Orion separate from
Core stage. Orion’s solar arrays unfurl
After 90-minute orbit, ICPS fires engines
to raise Orion to higher Earth orbit.
Crew begins multiple system checks
If everything is in order, Orion separates
from ICPS.Then, astronauts manually fly
Orion toward and away from ICPS, practising
proximity operations for future missions
Around 23 hours later, Orion Service Module
carries out Translunar Injection (TLI) burn –
sending Orion on a trajectory around the moon
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, Sources: GRAPHIC NEWS; NASA; ESA; Lockheed Martin
04/10/26 14:00The Artemis II astronauts
– Reet Arora
This screengrab taken from a NASA livestream shows Artemis II mission astronauts (L-R) NASA’s pilot Victor Glover, NASA commander Reid Wiseman, Canadian Space Agency’s mission specialist Jeremy Hansen and NASA’s mission specialist Christina Koch from inside the Orion spacecraft on April 4.Supplied/AFP/Getty Images
The Artemis II crew consists of three Americans and one Canadian: commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen. The mission’s crew was selected in 2023.
Commander Reid WisemanBaltimore, Maryland
Previously flew as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station for Expedition 41 from May through November 2014, logging more than 165 days in space. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Science in systems engineering from the Johns Hopkins University.
Pilot Victor GloverPomona, California
This is Glover’s second flight to space having previously served as pilot on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1, which flew to the International Space Station. He has contributed to scientific investigations, technology demonstrations and participated in four spacewalks.
Mission Specialist Christina KochJacksonville, North Carolina
Koch has served as flight engineer aboard the International Space Station for Expedition 59, 60 and 61. She has set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman with a total of 328 days in space and participated in the first all-female spacewalks.
Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen London, Ont.
Hansen is the first Canadian astronaut to venture to the moon. The former fighter pilot was selected as one of two recruits by the Canadian Space Agency for its astronaut recruitment program in 2009 and began working at the Mission Control Center in Houston in 2011.
He has previously participated in the European Space Agency’s CAVES program in Italy during which he lived underground for six days. He was a crew member of space mission simulation NEEMO 19 before becoming the first Canadian to lead a NASA astronaut class.