Nasa plans a post-landing press conference about two and a half hours after splashdown.<\/p>\n
The Guardian will have a livestream at the top of this blog from about 6.30pm ET.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.48 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n While we wait for Nasa\u2019s live coverage of reentry to start at about 6.30pm ET, here are some more highlights from the mission in pictures:<\/p>\n Artemis II pilot Victor Glover is pictured looking out of the window on the Orion spacecraft during the lunar flyby on Monday. Photograph: NASA\/ReutersArtemis II crew captured this view of the Earth next to the moon before Earthset during a lunar flyby, 6 April. Photograph: APThe moon fully eclipsing the sun, as seen from the Orion spacecraft. Photograph: NASA\/AFP\/Getty ImagesThe Moon, with its Orienale basin prominent. Photograph: NASA\/ReutersThe Artemis II crew of Nasa astronauts Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Photograph: NASA\/ReutersThe crew\u2019s sleeping bags are illuminated inside the Orion spacecraft. Photograph: NASAShare<\/a>Mission highlights<\/p>\n From its spectacular 1 April launch<\/a> into a clear blue Florida sky, Artemis II has provided the world with a succession of captivating moments, deep-space records, and stunning, never-before-seen imagery<\/a> from the far side of the moon.<\/p>\n Here are a few of the 10-day mission\u2019s highlights:<\/p>\n Flight day 1 (launch day)<\/p>\n Hundreds of thousands of people packed the beaches and causeways of Florida\u2019s space coast, and millions more watched on TV or online, as the mighty Space Launch System (SLS) rocket of Artemis II<\/a> lifted off at 6.35pm ET on humanity\u2019s first journey to the moon in almost 54 years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt foundational for what we do here at Nasa<\/a> to inspire,\u201d Jared Isaacman, the space agency\u2019s new administrator, said at the post-launch press conference.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should be a component of every one of our missions. We want to inspire and create interest in the next generation to grow up and contribute to this endeavor.\u201d<\/p>\n Flight day 2<\/p>\n After orbiting Earth while the astronauts and flight controllers in Houston established that the spacecraft, now known by its mission handle of Integrity, was functioning properly, a translunar injection burn committed it to the 250,000-mile journey to moon.<\/p>\n Flight day 5<\/p>\n Artemis II entered the moon\u2019s gravitational sphere of influence at 12.37am ET, the first crewed spacecraft to do so since Apollo 17 in December 1972.<\/p>\n Flight day 6<\/p>\n After setting a record for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth \u2013 252,756 miles<\/a> \u2013 and experiencing a 40-minute communications blackout during which they ate maple cookies supplied by Canadian crewmember Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II\u2019s astronauts embarked on a six-hour observation<\/a> of the lunar surface.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is blowing my mind what you can see with the naked eye from the moon right now. It\u2019s just unbelievable,\u201d Hansen said as Orion began the flyby and made its closest approach at a height of 4,067 miles.<\/p>\n The crew also witnessed an \u201cabsolutely stunning\u201d solar eclipse<\/a>.<\/p>\n Flight day 10 (splashdown)<\/p>\n Other than launch day, the riskiest part of the mission. The crew donned reentry spacesuits and completed final mission closeout tasks, including configuring the capsule\u2019s seats for their 25,000mph descent to the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Perspectives from the moon<\/p>\n All four of the Artemis II<\/a> astronauts spoke passionately during the mission about what they were seeing, and how they felt, as they passed over the surface of the moon at 4,067 miles away, their closest approach on Monday.<\/p>\n The moon, photographed by the Artemis II crew Photograph: NASA\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Reid Wiseman, mission commander:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe saw sights that no human has ever seen before, not even in Apollo, and that was amazing for us. The surprise of the day, we just came out of an eclipse where the sun, moon \u2013 the entire dark moon about that big right out the window that we were watching \u2013 we could see the corona of the sun, and then we could see the planet train line up, and Mars<\/p>\n And all of us commented how excited we are to watch this nation, and this planet, become a two-planet species<\/p>\n Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe have seen just some extraordinary things. Things I thought we might see looked similar to what I thought they might look like, and other things I just had never even imagined<\/p>\n The perspective I launched with was that we live on a fragile planet in the vacuum and the void of space. We\u2019re very fortunate to live on planet Earth. Our purpose as humans is to find joy in lifting each other up by creating solutions together instead of destroying, and when you see it from out here it doesn\u2019t change it, it just absolutely reaffirms that<\/p>\n Christina Koch, mission specialist:<\/p>\n double quotation markI just had an overwhelming sense of being moved by looking at the moon. It lasted just a second or two and I actually couldn\u2019t even make it happen again, but something just threw me in suddenly to the lunar landscape and it became real<\/p>\n The moon really is its own unique body in the universe. When we have that perspective and we compare it to our home of Earth, it just reminds us how much we have in common. Everything we need, Earth provides, and that, in and of itself, is somewhat of a miracle, and one that you can\u2019t truly know until you\u2019ve had the perspective of the other<\/p>\n Victor Glover, pilot:<\/p>\n double quotation markIt was very moving to look out the window. It was hard to speak looking through the zoom [lens], I went straight where Christina went and I was walking around down there on the surface, climbing and off-roading on that amazing terrain<\/p>\n Boy, I am loving the terminator [the dividing line between sunlight and darkness]. There\u2019s just so much magic in the terminator, the islands of light, the valleys that look like black holes. You\u2019d fall straight to the center of the moon if you stepped in some of those. It\u2019s just so visually captivating<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Artemis II record breakers<\/p>\n The crew of Artemis II traveled farther from Earth<\/a> than any humans before them, reaching 252,756 miles, more than 4,000 beyond the previous record set by the Apollo 13 crew in April 1970.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do so in honoring the extraordinary efforts and feats of our predecessors in human space exploration\u201d mission specialist Jeremy Hansen said from space.<\/p>\n Christina Koch, the first woman to fly to the moon. Photograph: NASA\/Reuters<\/p>\n \u201cWe most importantly choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.\u201d<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t the only record set during their 10-day lunar flyby. Christina Koch became the only woman to have traveled to the moon and back. Hansen, of the Canadian Space Agency, became the first non-American. Victor Glover, the Artemis II<\/a> pilot, became the first person of color to do so.<\/p>\n Before the four Artemis II astronauts, only 24 humans made the journey and returned safely. All were white American men during nine manned Apollo missions between December 1968 and December 1972.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n On the eve of splashdown day, the Artemis II<\/a> crew spoke about inspiring the next generation and \u201cworking on something big for the good of everyone\u201d.<\/p>\n You can catch up on their comments here:<\/p>\n The splashdown of the Orion capsule will follow a precise timeline through the afternoon and evening on Friday.<\/p>\n Nasa says the scheduled splashdown time of 5.07pm PT (8.07pm ET; 1.07am Saturday BST) is approximate, and will harden as the capsule passes certain milestones during its descent.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the day looks like right now (all times Pacific):<\/p>\n 8.35am Crew wakes up<\/p>\n 10.50am Crew completes cabin configuration preparation<\/p>\n 11.53am Final return trajectory correction burn<\/p>\n 4.33pm Orion separates from service module<\/p>\n 4.37pm Crew module raise burn to place spacecraft at correct angle for reentry<\/p>\n 4.53pm Entry interface to Earth\u2019s atmosphere at 400,000ft<\/p>\n 5.07pm Splashdown<\/p>\n Orion will be exposed to heat up to 5,000F (2,760C) during its 25,000mph reentry. A set of 11 parachutes will deploy in sequence at set altitudes following reentry that will slow the spacecraft to 17mph at splashdown.<\/p>\n It could take up to two hours after splashdown for crews from Nasa and the US navy<\/a> to reach the capsule, open the hatch and release the astronauts. Nasa plans to take them by helicopter to a military base in San Diego for medical checks, then they will fly back to Houston\u2019s Johnson Space Center.<\/p>\n Nasa plans a post-landing press conference about two and a half hours after splashdown.<\/p>\n The Guardian will have a livestream at the top of this blog from about 6.30pm ET.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.48 EDT<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the splashdown of the Artemis II<\/a> crew off the coast of California after their mesmerizing 10-day mission to fly around the moon.<\/p>\n The Orion capsule that carried four astronauts, three Americans and one Canadian, on their 695,000-mile lunar adventure is scheduled to land at 5.07pm PT (8.07pm ET, 1.07am Saturday BST).<\/p>\n I\u2019m Richard Luscombe, and I\u2019ll be bringing you the developments as they happen, from the preparations for Orion\u2019s fiery reentry into Earth\u2019s atmosphere, to its Pacific Ocean splashdown and hatch opening that will give the crew their first breaths of fresh air since before their launch<\/a> from Florida on 1 April.<\/p>\n![\"Artemis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5568.jpg\")
Artemis II crew on inspiring the next generation and unifying humanity \u2013\u00a0videoShare<\/a>What to expect as Artemis II comes home<\/p>\n