The Orion capsule carrying the four Artemis II astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 p.m. ET, completing a historic 10‑day mission that looped around the moon. Mission Control called it “a perfect bullseye splashdown.” The landing took place about 40 to 50 miles offshore.
Orion endured a planned six‑minute communications blackout during peak heating as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere. The capsule reached a peak reentry speed of roughly 24,661 mph and the crew reported experiencing about 3.9 Gs. Temperatures across the heat shield peaked near 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit; NASA said it has “high confidence” in the heat shield, parachutes and recovery systems after adjustments following the Artemis I flight.
Parachute sequences began near 50,000 feet with multiple pilot chutes and culminated in three main 116‑foot chutes inflating around 6,000 feet to slow Orion to a gentle splashdown speed. Before reentry, the crew module separated from its service module as planned, and communications were switched from the Deep Space Network to the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System.
After splashdown, recovery teams approached the bobbing capsule. Divers installed an inflatable collar and a “front porch” raft beneath Orion’s side hatch. The four astronauts emerged from the capsule about 90 minutes after splashdown, exiting one by one onto the raft. A medical officer reported all crew members were “feeling great, happy to be home.”
Navy divers and recovery personnel hoisted the astronauts into helicopters and flew them to the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha, positioned nearby. The ship’s well deck will cradle Orion; the spacecraft is scheduled to be returned to Naval Base San Diego and later transported back to Kennedy Space Center for inspection and data retrieval. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman met the crew aboard the recovery ship and watched as the astronauts, with minimal assistance, walked to the ship’s medical bay.
NASA leaders celebrated the mission. Exploration Ground Systems program manager Shawn Quinn called the return “an incredible end to an incredible mission,” and Orion program manager Howard Hu said the agency will analyze the data and “move forward” into a new era of exploration. Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya praised the courage of the astronauts’ families during the six‑minute blackout. Dr. Lori Glaze called Artemis II “our first mission to the moon of many more to come.”
President Trump congratulated the crew in a social media post and said he watched the splashdown on TV while at a fundraiser; he later said he looks forward to welcoming them to the White House.
During recovery, teams briefly troubleshot a communications issue between the recovery ship and Orion that delayed the planned power‑down of nonessential systems. Communications were restored and the crew module was powered down for safe extraction. Recovery procedures included sweeping for hazardous fumes such as hydrazine and installing a sea anchor to stabilize the capsule.
The astronauts returned with a suite of mission highlights: stunning photos taken from the far side of the moon, including an “Earthset” image and a solar eclipse visible only from orbit; personal moments such as naming a lunar crater “Carroll” in honor of Commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife; and lighter touches like “Rise,” the mission’s zero‑gravity indicator plush designed by an 8‑year‑old, which floated through cabin photos and videos.
Artemis II also set a new record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth: about 252,756 miles during the far‑side flyby, exceeding Apollo 13’s 1970 record. By mission end, the crew had traveled roughly 694,481 miles over an expected duration of about 9 days, 1 hour and 31 minutes.
On the flight home, the crew used phones to capture final images of Earth from tens of thousands of miles away and prepared for reentry in their orange Orion Crew Survival System suits. NASA provided a clear timeline of reentry events in real time: crew module raise burn and heat shield alignment, communications blackout beginning around 7:53 p.m. ET, drogue parachute deployment near 22,000 feet, main chute deployment near 6,000 feet, and splashdown at 8:07 p.m. ET.
Once aboard USS John P. Murtha the astronauts underwent medical checks. They were then expected to be transported to Naval Base San Diego and ultimately flown back to Kennedy Space Center where mission teams will analyze spacecraft systems and recover scientific and engineering data. NASA officials said the mission’s success and the data returned will inform future Artemis missions as the agency works toward returning humans to the lunar surface and beyond.