Nasa has shared these images of the astronauts at work on board the spacecraft.
Andrew Griffin9 April 2026 16:11
Heat shield worries ahead of re-entry
Re-entry (or landing generally, including on other planets) is one of the most dangerous parts of space machines. This time around the threat is even bigger.
As they plunge through the atmosphere, the Artemis II astronauts will be relying on their heat shield to protect them from the vast temperatures generated as they blaze through the atmosphere. But that heat shield has already had troubles: when the uncrewed Artemis I test mission came back, the heat shield didn’t work properly, and it has not been meaningfully changed since.
The mission has been altered from that one, so that the crew will fall to Earth more quickly. That means they will spend less time in the hot part of the descent, though it comes with its own drawbacks.
Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman has indicated that this is a particularly dangerous part of the mission. In part because there is nothing else the crew can do as they fall.
“In terms of what keeps me up at night, my blood pressure will be elevated until they’re under parachutes in the water off the West Coast,” he said. “There’s no plan B there.
“That is the thermal protection system. The heat shield has to work.”
Andrew Griffin9 April 2026 16:10
Astronauts are ‘packing up’ ready for home
Yesterday was a big day. Astronauts undertook a range of tasks including exercise and a bit of manual piloting of the spacecraft. Now they’re packing up ready for home, Nasa says.
Andrew Griffin9 April 2026 15:05
‘The most ominous thing I have ever loved’
Mission specialist Christina Koch has shared pictures from her trip around the Moon – and a bit of a poetry with it.
Andrew Griffin9 April 2026 10:02
Here’s what Nasa crew’s fitness regimen looks like
Nasa astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen completed their daily flywheel workout, using the compact device for both cardio and strength training to counter the effects of microgravity.
Nasa had said earlier that each astronaut would dedicate 30 minutes daily to exercise, “minimising the muscle and bone loss that occurs without gravity”.
This screengrab from a Nasa livestream shows Artemis II crew members Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover synchronising their watches aboard the Orion spacecraft on 6 April 2026 (NASA/AFP via Getty Images)
“Orion is equipped with a flywheel, a small device installed directly below the side hatch used to enter and exit Orion and will conveniently be used as a step when the crew get inside Orion on launch day,” the agency said.
“The flywheel is a simple cable-based device for aerobic exercises like rowing and resistance workouts like squats and deadlifts. It works like a yo-yo, giving astronauts as much load as they put into it, maxing out at 400 pounds.”
Maroosha Muzaffar9 April 2026 08:10
Nasa crew woke up to ‘Under Pressure’ by Queen and David Bowie
The Artemis II crew aboard the Orion spacecraft Integrity started Flight Day 8 with the song “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie as they continued their return journey to Earth, Nasa said.
At wake-up, the spacecraft was about 200,278 miles from Earth and 83,549 miles from the Moon.
The Artemis II crew and flight control teams are now preparing Orion for re-entry and splashdown on Friday.
Maroosha Muzaffar9 April 2026 07:40
Artemis II crew preparing Orion for Earth re-entry
The Artemis II crew and flight control teams are preparing the Orion spacecraft for splashdown back on Earth by securing equipment, installing seats, and reviewing entry procedures, Nasa said.
“Looking ahead to Thursday, the crew and flight control teams will begin preparing the cabin and studying entry procedures ahead of splashdown. The crew will start stowing equipment and installing their seats to ensure all items are secured for re-entry.
“To prepare the cabin for entry, the teams opted to forego the originally planned shielding deployment demonstration,” the space agency said.
In this photo provided by Nasa, Commander Reid Wiseman looks at the Earth from a window aboard the Orion spacecraft Integrity during the Artemis II mission en route to the moon on Thursday, 2 April 2026
Nasa is targeting a splashdown off the coast of San Diego at 8.07pm ET on Friday.
Maroosha Muzaffar9 April 2026 07:10
Nasa team focused on getting Moon mission astronauts back to Earth safely
Nasa officials are ensuring “they don’t take their eye off the ball” as astronauts near their return to Earth after travelling deeper into space than anyone before.
The Artemis II crew, who successfully completed a test flight around the Moon, are due to splashdown off the coast of San Diego in California on Friday.
A news conference heard scientists were continuing to learn from the epic voyage that would inform future missions.
This included monitoring the impact of the deep space environment on the three Americans and Canadian aboard the Orion module.
The Goonhilly Earth Station, near Helston, in Cornwall, has been helping track the first Moon mission in more than 50 years.
Maroosha Muzaffar9 April 2026 06:40
Nasa astronauts hope mission inspires the world to cherish Earth
The Nasa astronauts were asked whether they can sense how their mission is being received back on Earth and if it shapes how they share their journey.
The astronaut said they mainly rely on brief family calls for feedback and added that those moments were emotional and meaningful.
“The four of us, we’ve had two opportunities each to have very brief video chats with our families. And I will tell you, first of all, the four of us are now forged in a friendship that is very unique, and we will cherish this, this bond that we share for our lives. And then one of the neatest things being a crewmate on this spacecraft has been is not being in the family conference, but hearing your crewmates giggling and crying and just gasping and listening and loving their families from afar,” Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman said during a broadcast.
“Family is so important to all four of us, and that has been amazing. And when I got to talk to my daughters Ellie and Katie for the first time, like I just couldn’t even speak, I was just so overjoyed. I was crying. I mean, it’s just, it is an amazing experience. But what also came from that is that is really our source of news on planet Earth, and those, those family members, have been our source of how the mission is going,” he added.
“What we really hoped in our soul is that we could, for just a moment, have the world pause and remember that this is a beautiful planet in a very special place in our universe, and we should all cherish what we have, what we have been gifted. And I think for folks that decided to tune in, and it sounds like it was quite a few, this has happened, and for that, we are eternally grateful.”
Maroosha Muzaffar9 April 2026 06:10
Artemis II crew describe life inside Orion
The Artemis II mission crew say that living inside the Orion spacecraft in microgravity makes the capsule feel bigger than it actually is.
Nasa astronaut Christina Koch added that it was still a tight space where crew members were constantly bumping into each other.
“We have loved living in Orion, and in fact, we’ve all said that sometimes you can forget where you really are because.. we’re in this small space that just gives us everything we need,” Koch said.
This image provided by Nasa, astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft’s main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon on Thursday, 2 April 2026 (AP)
“Yes, it is bigger in microgravity, and yes, we are bumping into each other 100 per cent of the time.. A phrase that you often hear in the cabin is, ‘don’t move your foot.. I’m just going to reach for something right under it’, or, you know, ‘can I get there?’ And my goal is to get over there.
“And we’re constantly moving around, whether it’s to complete a task, to just eat, you know, to look out the window, to take a picture, everything we do in here is a four-person activity.
“But it’s also really fun.”
Maroosha Muzaffar9 April 2026 05:40