Artemis II Mission’s Return to Earth: How and When to Watch the Splashdown

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:34:00 +0200

After a historic 10-day mission that took the Artemis II crew to the far side of the moon, the astronauts are on their way back to Earth. The splashdown is scheduled for Friday evening, April 10, 2026, and NASA will livestream the event for viewers worldwide. The Orion capsule will enter Earth’s atmosphere near southeast Hawaii, traveling at a maximum speed of 38,400 km/h and reaching temperatures of 2,760°C. The crew will experience forces of up to 3.9 g’s, feeling nearly four times their weight. A six-minute communications blackout will occur during descent due to the extreme heat creating a plasma blanket around the capsule. Once it reaches the Pacific Ocean off California's coast, the astronauts will undergo an initial medical evaluation before traveling to Houston for further tests. While Artemis II was a successful mission proving NASA’s capabilities to orbit the moon with a crew, the lunar landing will not occur until Artemis IV. The next Artemis mission will continue refining t