Artemis II astronauts are scheduled to return to Earth today.

Artemis II's Orion capsule is scheduled to re-enter at 7:53 p.m. ET and splash down in the Pacific off San Diego about 13 minutes later. The service module will separate before re-entry and recovery teams aboard USS John P. Murtha will assist the crew after splashdown.

The four-person Artemis II crew is scheduled to return to Earth today after nearly 10 days in space. The Orion capsule will re-enter the atmosphere southeast of Hawaii and is expected to splash down in the Pacific off San Diego. The mission returned humans to lunar distance and tested Orion's systems, including manual control and life support. NASA has adjusted the planned re-entry profile because earlier testing of the heat shield on Artemis I required a steeper, faster approach this time. Key details: - Re-entry is scheduled to begin at 7:53 p.m. ET, with splashdown about 13 minutes later near San Diego. - The Orion service module is set to separate at 7:33 p.m. ET and will burn up on re-entry while the crewed capsule continues to descend. - Mission timeline on return day includes a crew wake-up at 11:35 a.m. ET and a course-correction burn at 2:53 p.m. ET to fine-tune the trajectory. - During re-entry the capsule will travel around 25,000 miles per hour and experience temperatures up to about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit; a communication blackout of roughly six minutes is expected. - USS John P. Murtha is positioned near the splashdown zone; recovery teams will install an inflatable raft, a flight surgeon will examine the crew, and the astronauts will be transported back to Johnson Space Center. - The mission set a distance record beyond Apollo 13, tested spacecraft capabilities, and encountered an in-flight issue with the urine-dumping system; engineers plan detailed inspections of Orion, including its plumbing, after recovery. Summary: A successful re-entry and splashdown will complete Artemis II's primary objectives and bring home mission data, images, and crew observations. Engineers will examine the Orion capsule at Kennedy Space Center, reviewing heat shield performance and the plumbing issue as teams prepare for Artemis III next year.