Published on Apr. 10, 2026, 5:05 PM
Updated on Apr. 10, 2026, 9:45 PM
Today is splashdown day for the Artemis 2 crew. Tune in for live updates throughout the afternoon!
Artemis 2 returns home, today, from their 10-day trip around the Moon, and their fiery plunge through Earth’s atmosphere will be the riskiest part of this entire mission.
The crew of the Artemis 2 mission — Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — are nearing the final stage of their flight.
After launching into orbit on April 1, they spent one day circling Earth, testing out the capabilities of their Orion spacecraft, they named Integrity. Once that shakedown was complete, they then set off for a four-day journey out to the Moon, taking a day to pass around the far side, while they explored its geology from space, capturing incredible imagery along the way.
The Artemis 2 image gallery ‘frontpage’. (NASA)
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In the days since, Integrity has been falling back towards Earth, bringing the crew closer and closer to home again.
As of Friday morning, with only hours left in their journey, anticipation is growing.
Orion’s orientation, speed, and distance from Earth and the Moon are shown in this computer visualization of the spacecraft as of around 10:30 a.m. EDT, on Friday, April 10, 2026. (NASA TV)
By noon, Eastern Time, the crew crossed the 100,000-kilometre-distance from Earth, as they remain on track for reentry starting around 7:30 p.m. EDT, with a splashdown expected off the coast of California by 8:07 p.m. EDT.