The crew of the Artemis II mission safely returned to Earth on April 10, 2026, after a historic journey around the Moon lasting nearly ten days. The Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, near San Diego, California.

The four astronauts - Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen - successfully completed the first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years, since the last Apollo program mission was carried out in 1972.

The splashdown occurred at 2:07 PM Pacific Time. Recovery teams from NASA, the US Navy, and the Air Force extracted the astronauts from the capsule, after which they underwent medical examinations before being transported to the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The Artemis II mission represents a key step in NASA's ambitious program to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon, which is intended to serve as a starting point for future Mars exploration.

The Orion capsule was transported to the Kennedy Space Center for detailed post-flight analysis. This success marks the beginning of a new era in space exploration and confirms that humanity is once again ready for ambitious missions beyond low Earth orbit.