Artemis II astronauts return to Earth after historic 10-day moon flyby mission

Artemis II crew makes a splashdown after a 10-day moon flyby mission onboard the Orion capsule, the first humans to do so in over five decades.

Artemis II was especially unique for Christina Koch, who becomes the first woman along with Victor Glover, the first Black man to orbit the moon.

NASA launched the Artemis II mission carrying four astronauts onboard the Orion spacecraft on April 1 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a 10-day lunar mission flying the far side of the moon.

Artemis II crew onboard the Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego at 5:07 P.M. PDT (8:07 P.M. EDT) on Friday, April 10, 2026.

NASA Artemis II’s four astronauts included Mission Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from Canadian Space Agency.

NASA shared the epic snaps of Artemis II crew after they were rescued by the U.S. Navy during the splashdown.

NASA now eyes sending astronauts to the lunar surface on ambitious Artemis III program as early as 2028, thus establishing a permanent base on the Moon.

Artemis II was unique in many ways, as it orbited the far side of the moon and then successfully returned to Earth, the first by any human ever.