Artemis II crew return to Earth with perfect splashdown

The Artemis II crew splashed down off San Diego at 5:07 p.m. Pacific after a planned reentry sequence, and mission control reported the crew as 'green' on recovery; the flight tested systems ahead of a planned lunar landing in 2028.

The Artemis II crew and their Orion crew module, Integrity, returned to Earth with a splashdown off the coast of San Diego at 5:07 p.m. Pacific time. Four astronauts—Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen—were aboard. During the final half hour of the mission the capsule completed a planned separation from its service module, a raise burn to assist reentry, and passed through a scheduled communications blackout. The flight looped around the moon and travelled farther from Earth than any human mission before it, and it was intended to exercise hardware and teams ahead of a 2028 lunar landing effort. Key details: - Splashdown occurred at 5:07 p.m. Pacific off San Diego in clear weather. - The crew module, Integrity, separated from its service module and performed a raise burn prior to atmospheric entry. - The vehicle experienced an expected six-minute communications blackout during reentry. - Parachute deployment concluded with three red-and-white parachutes visible before splashdown. - Recovery teams reported the crew as "green" after reaching the Pacific; flotation balloons helped keep Integrity afloat while it powered down, and a satellite phone was reported not to be working. Summary: The successful return validated reentry procedures and recovery operations on a mission that sent humans farther from Earth than before. NASA intends to use lessons from Artemis II to prepare systems and flight teams for a planned lunar landing in 2028 and for extended operations on the Moon.