{"id":263133,"date":"2026-04-11T22:29:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T22:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/263133\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T22:29:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T22:29:16","slug":"artemis-ii-returns-oakland-science-center-celebrates-end-of-historic-moon-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/263133\/","title":{"rendered":"Artemis II returns: Oakland science center celebrates end of historic moon mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE CHABOT SPACE AND SCIENCE CENTER in Oakland hosted an event on Friday to celebrate the Artemis II mission ahead of the touchdown of the project\u2019s astronauts.<\/p>\n

The crew of the Artemis II splashdown aboard the Orion capsule came at 5:07 p.m. local time off the coast of San Diego and was to be picked up by the U.S. Navy.<\/p>\n

Scientists, families and schoolchildren crowded the halls of the NASA Ames Visitor Center<\/a> at Chabot to discuss the Artemis II technology, its scientific impact, and how they felt unified by the space-faring humans.<\/p>\n

Cara Dodge works as an exhibition manager at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View. She said Ames is the second oldest NASA center in the country, after Langley Field in Virginia, and has played an important role in making the Artemis II possible.<\/p>\n

\"\"A NASA exhibit set up at the Chabot Space and Science Center and NASA Ames Visitor Center for a celebration of the completion of the Artemis II mission in Oakland on Friday, April 10, 2026. The NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View helped run tests and simulation for NASA\u2019s latest mission. (Andres Jimenez Larios\/ Bay City News)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nLeft: A family poses in front of a photo of the moon at the Chabot Space and Science Center on Friday, April 10, 2026. Right: Children get a feel for what it looks like to be an astronaut as they pose inside cutouts. (Andres Jimenez Larios\/Bay City News)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis mission would not be possible without any of the NASA centers, and certainly not be possible without Ames,\u201d Dodge said. \u201cWe\u2019re this incredibly diverse center that makes all of these really cool missions happen, with really important detailed research to make sure that these missions fly the way that we want them to fly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dodge eagerly greeted the dozens of students that were visiting the center on field trips with a giant smile on her face. She said she loved her job because she can show people they can be a part of NASA\u2019s projects that can, at times, seem impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I love about NASA is that it\u2019s a real dream come true, made by real people who work here in the real Bay Area,\u201d said Dodge. \u201cWe are this tiny little thread from this incredibly innovative, rich culture here in Northern California, and we have a little thread all the way to the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good vibrations<\/p>\n

NASA engineer and Fremont resident Jayanta \u201cJay\u201d Panda has worked with NASA for 36 years, specializing on vibroacoustic design on space vehicles. He said his job is to make sure the impact of vibrations from millions of parts on rockets, like Artemis II, are kept to minimum for safe travels.<\/p>\n

Panda said he had always wanted to work for world-renowned science organization like NASA. He hopes future generations will be inspired to help work towards new advances in technology.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jayanta \u201cJay\u201d Panda speaks at the Chabot Space and Science Center and NASA Ames Visitor Center on Friday, April 10, 2026. \u201cWe are going back (to the moon) after more than half a century and I feel I\u2019m part of that great history making thing,\u201d Panda said. (Andres Jimenez Larios\/ Bay City News)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going back (to the moon) after more than half a century and I feel I\u2019m part of that great history making thing,\u201d said Panda.<\/p>\n

Parul Agrawal helped design the heat shield on the Orion capsule holding the four astronauts as they reenter Earth\u2019s atmosphere. She was emotional to see her team\u2019s hard work be celebrated after years of simulation testing at the Ames Research Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day I get up and I feel happy that I\u2019m working in my dream organization,\u201d said Agrawal. \u201cThese are historic missions and we are going to change the way we look at our solar system. We are going to understand the Moon in a way that we have never understood before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nLeft: A booth hosted by NASA Ames Research Center is set up at the Chabot Space and Science Center and NASA Ames Visitor Center in Oakland during a celebration marking the completion of the Artemis II mission on Friday, April 10, 2026. Right: A young boy wears clothing bearing the NASA emblem and space-themed stickers. (Andres Jimenez Larios\/Bay City News)<\/p>\n

Agrawal said she hopes kids will see the mission and feel like they should not limit their imaginations.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur generation is looking at going back to the moon but the kids who are less than 10 years old, I think they can think about visiting Mars,\u201d said Agrawal.<\/p>\n

Inspired by space<\/p>\n

For 71 year-old Oakland resident Jeremy Harris, the support behind NASA\u2019s latest mission reminded him of the unifying feeling during the space race in the 1960s and 70s \u2014 when he was a teenager.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going back to the Moon!\u201d said Harris. \u201cWe have all this new technology and people who are willing to put their lives on the line and I feel like that is inspiring to not only me but others too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Children play in a Project Mercury crew capsule at the Chabot Space and Science Center and NASA Ames Visitor Center in Oakland during a celebration of the completion of the Artemis II mission on Friday, April 10, 2026. (Andres Jimenez Larios\/Bay City News)<\/p>\n

Monica Martinez and her daughter Sophia stepped inside a replica of the Project Mercury capsule, playing with the control stick and buttons. Monica was overjoyed to see her child\u2019s eyes brighten when looking at the exhibits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis mission feels like a reminder that anyone can achieve great things if they put their mind to it,\u201d said Martinez. \u201cWe all should be supporting each other and not trying to find things that separate us, but that show us what we have in common.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE CHABOT SPACE AND SCIENCE CENTER in Oakland hosted an event on Friday to celebrate the Artemis II…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263134,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[105999,184,115508,1043,93,4306,394,11482,194,3098,78621,143,145,144,645,2280,93725,1970,5435],"class_list":{"0":"post-263133","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-artemis-ii","9":"tag-bay-area","10":"tag-chabot-space-and-science-center","11":"tag-event","12":"tag-featured","13":"tag-featured-news","14":"tag-fremont","15":"tag-moon","16":"tag-mountain-view","17":"tag-nasa","18":"tag-nasa-ames-research-center","19":"tag-oakland","20":"tag-oakland-headlines","21":"tag-oakland-news","22":"tag-science","23":"tag-silicon-valley","24":"tag-space-exploration","25":"tag-technology","26":"tag-u-s-navy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}