The Artemis II crew splashed down off the California coast, and recovery and medical follow‑up now begin. Recovery teams — Navy divers and medical personnel — approach once controllers confirm the capsule is powered down and communications are established. Divers secure a raft below the capsule’s hatch (the crew’s “front porch”), enter only after safe shutdown and crew checks, perform an initial in‑capsule assessment, and then assist the astronauts onto the raft in a predetermined order. Each astronaut is then hoisted by helicopter to the nearby USS John P. Murtha for more thorough medical checks.
On the ship medical teams run blood and saliva tests and a battery of cognitive and motor‑skills evaluations to assess how the crew is recovering from reentry and about 10 days in microgravity. Tests typically include strength and coordination checks, cognitive tasks, and specific physical maneuvers that mimic spacecraft operations — for example, climbing a rope ladder, handling equipment and backpacks, and simulated docking tasks — to see how their bodies respond to gravity after prolonged weightlessness.
Depending on condition and preference, astronauts may stay overnight aboard the recovery ship or be ferried back to San Diego (North Island Naval Station) and from there flown to Houston’s Johnson Space Center. At JSC they will undergo additional examinations and debriefs and be reunited with family. Follow‑up medical monitoring continues for days and weeks afterward to track readaptation to gravity and complete research protocols.
The recovery operation is highly rehearsed. Teams train for years, practicing many scenarios — calm and rough water recoveries, timed entry and evacuation procedures, and evac paths to the ship. Backup rescue forces (pararescue teams, C‑17s and equipment) are staged in locations such as Hawaii, ready to deploy if the landing deviates from plan. Multiple agencies (NASA, U.S. Navy, U.S. Space Command, Air Force and contractors) coordinate the effort.
Entry includes a predictable blackout period — several minutes during peak heating — when ionized plasma around the capsule blocks radio signals. That blackout is normal and expected; teams monitor telemetry and wait for the first post‑entry calls from the capsule. Reentry places substantial forces on the crew and vehicle: rapid deceleration from orbital velocity, heat shield loads during atmospheric entry, parachute sequence and splashdown. The heat shield and parachute sequence are critical; confirming their performance is part of initial assessments.
After the shipboard checks, astronauts begin staged tests onshore: further motor‑skill and vestibular assessments to understand balance and coordination, more extensive blood and saliva sampling for physiological studies, and functional tasks that simulate mission operations. Data gathered informs crew health care and future mission planning.
Recovery also preserves the spacecraft for engineering and science review. The capsule and hardware are recovered for inspection and analysis to verify performance and to learn for subsequent Artemis missions.
In short: immediate in‑water approach and safe egress onto the attached raft; rapid transfer by helicopter to the recovery ship; shipboard medical and functional testing; transport to San Diego and to Johnson Space Center for expanded evaluations and family reunions; ongoing monitoring and study. The entire process is a practiced, multi‑agency operation designed to ensure crew safety, collect medical and technical data, recover mission hardware and support the next steps in Artemis exploration.