After 10 days on a journey around the Moon and back, the Artemis II crew are due to splash down in the Pacific Ocean this Friday, 10 April 2026.
The crew's Orion capsule will splash down off the coast of San Diego at 20:07 EDT on 10 April (00:07 UTC, 11 April).
They'll then be picked up by the US Navy's John P. Murtha ship and its crew, who will recover both the astronauts and their Orion spacecraft.
The US Navy says Sea Hawk helicopters from its Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 will provide imagery support for NASA, tracking the Orion capsule as it travels through Earth’s atmosphere.
Once splashdown is complete, the Navy's helicopters will pick up the astronauts after they emerge from the capsule, then bring them onboard the ship for assessment, before transporting them to shore.
Navy divers will assist with the astronauts' exit from the Orion capsule, then recover the capsule and bring it onboard.
You can watch the build-up to the Artemis II splashdown, the splashdown itself and recovery of astronauts and capsule, live via the NASA stream below.
