When is the Artemis II splashdown in California? See time, location
When is the Artemis II splashdown in California? See time, location
Eric Lagatta and Rick Neale, USA TODAYTue, April 7, 2026 at 4:20 PM UTC
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The Artemis II astronauts are on their way home and preparing for a water landing off the coast of California, leaving the moon in the rearview mirror after becoming the first humans in more than 50 years to travel near Earth's celestial neighbor.
The most important leg of the historic moon mission is complete after the four astronauts spent hours Monday, April 6, making observations of the moon's far side, which is permanently faced away from Earth. The close approach, known as a lunar flyby, was a trailblazing moment in spaceflight, taking astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover of NASA, as well as Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, the farthest any human has been from Earth.
1 / 0A look at Artemis around the far side of the moon
This handout image released by NASA shows a fully illuminated Moon, with the near side at top, dark lava plains, and the Orientale basin, with parts of the far side visible, on April 6, 2026. The four astronauts embarking on NASA's lunar flyby became on April 6 the humans to travel furthest from our planet, as they get set to view areas of the Moon never before seen by the naked eye. The Artemis II team broke the previous record set by 1970's Apollo 13 mission, which they are expected to surpass by approximately 4,105 miles (6,606 kilometers) when they reach this journey's anticipated furthest distance from Earth -- 252,760 miles -- later today.
In the days ahead, the crew members aboard NASA's Orion capsule will now make the trek back home and prepare for a splashdown off the California coast.
Want to follow along with the rest of the test flight, which will pave the way for a possible 2028 moon landing?
Here's what to know about the Artemis II splashdown, as well as how you can use NASA's official tracker to keep up with their journey.
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Where is the Artemis II splashdown in California?
The astronauts are now making a four-day journey back to Earth, using our planet's gravity to naturally "slingshot," or pull Orion back home, negating the need for propulsion or much fuel.
Once Orion blazes through Earth's atmosphere, a protective heat shield will be cast off to make way for parachutes to deploy and slow the vehicle down.
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1 / 0See photos from space during NASA's Artemis II mission so farArtemis II crew members Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Victor Glover answer questions from reporters during the first downlink event of their mission.
The capsule will then make a water landing likely Friday, April 10, in the Pacific Ocean near California off the coast of San Diego, after which five orange airbags will inflate around the top of the spacecraft and flip the capsule into an upright position. After the landing, the crew would exit the vehicle onto a U.S. Navy recovery vessel within about two hours.
When is the Artemis II splashdown in California?
The Artemis II astronauts' Orion is scheduled to splash down at about 5:07 p.m. PT on Friday, April 10.
1 / 0See the moment Artemis II lifts off for historic moon mission
Artemis II and it’s crew of four lift off from Kennedy Space Center April 1, 2026 on a 10-day mission around the Moon and back. Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK
"Following splashdown, recovery teams will retrieve the crew members using helicopters and deliver them to the USS John P. Murtha. Once aboard, the astronauts will undergo post-flight medical evaluations in the ship’s medical bay before traveling back to shore to meet with an aircraft bound for NASA Johnson (Space Center)," a NASA press release said.
Artemis II tracker: Follow moon mission location
This screengrab shows NASA's virtual tracker with the status of the Orion spacecraft the Artemis II astronauts are aboard for a mission around the moon and back.
Want to follow the astronauts along the Artemis II lunar journey? NASA has an Artemis II tracker available online and on its mobile app that allows users to see where Orion is, how fast it's traveling and how far the spacecraft is from both the Earth and the moon.
The mobile version for smartphones even includes an augmented reality feature that allows users to move their phones to see where Orion is relative to Earth.
The tracker, officially referred to as the "Artemis Real-time Orbit Website" (AROW), uses data collected in real time by sensors on the Orion spacecraft sent to the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. That information will be constantly beginning about one minute after liftoff until Orion begins its re-entry into Earth's atmosphere about 10 days later.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Artemis II splashdown time, location for San Diego landing
Source: “AOL Breaking”
