Today, April 10, NASA’s Artemis 2 astronauts are set to return to Earth from the moon, bringing their historic 10-day mission to a close.
Splashdown is expected at approximately 8:07 p.m. EDT (0007 GMT on April 11) off the coast of California — a similar location to where the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission landed in December 2022.
The four astronauts, commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere at speeds of up to 24,000 mph (38,600 kph). During the spacecraft’s roughly 13-minute descent, the Orion capsule will endure temperatures of up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius).
A heat shield will protect the crew as parachutes deploy to slow the capsule before it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean.
The astronauts will then be recovered by the USS John Murtha and escorted back to shore.
The mission marks the first crewed journey to the moon in more than 50 years and a major milestone in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface with Artemis 4.