NASA’s Artemis II is on track to return to Earth on Friday, concluding a historic 10-day trip around the moon.
The crew—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen—will spend their last full day in space preparing for the splashdown on Friday.
They will begin stowing away equipment and gear to make sure everything is secure on the Orion spacecraft before reentry.
NASA said the crew will also study entry procedures ahead of the splashdown.
The Artemis II crew—astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen—take questions from reporters ahead of their splashdown. (Credit: NASA)
On Wednesday, the crew took a break from their tasks and answered questions about the mission from the media.
They also talked about what it’s like living inside the Orion capsule and what it was like to witness a solar eclipse.
The mission will end Friday with a splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the San Diego coast at 8:07 p.m. EDT.
Artemis II mission timeline
Artemis II launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 1, sending the four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft on a 10-day journey to the moon and back to Earth.
An illustration showing the Artemis II mission. Credit: NASA
- Earth orbit (Day 1): The Artemis II astronauts will orbit Earth for one day to confirm all spacecraft systems are functioning properly.
- To the moon (Days 2–5): Orion’s main engine will fire to propel the capsule out of Earth orbit toward the moon, roughly 244,000 miles (393,000 kilometers) away.
- Moon flyby (Day 6): Orion will reach its farthest point from Earth, passing about 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) beyond the moon. Astronauts are expected to document the flyby with cameras and smartphones before heading back to Earth.
- Return (Days 6–9): Using a free-return trajectory, Orion will use the moon’s and Earth’s gravity to guide the spacecraft safely home.
- Reentry: The service module separates, and the capsule re-enters Earth’s atmosphere, facing temperatures up to 3,000°F (1,650°C).
- Splashdown: The Artemis II crew will parachute into the Pacific Ocean, completing the mission much like Apollo astronauts did decades ago.
Artemis II live tracker
NASA has created the Artemis Real-time Orbit Website (AROW), where people can track the Orion spacecraft in real time. Click here to see where the spacecraft and the Artemis II astronauts are.
Views from space: NASA video feed from Orion spacecraft
NASA is also broadcasting a feed from the Orion spacecraft. Viewers can get live views of space during the crew’s trip.
The feed is expected to end shortly before the Orion splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, according to NASA.
The Source: This article was written with information from NASA, the Artemis Real-time Orbit Website (AROW), and live feeds from NASA’s YouTube channel.