On April 1, 2026, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched the Artemis II mission at 3:35 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (MST) from the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida.
The Orion spacecraft splashed down safely off of the coast of California in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, April 10, 2026, at approximately 6:07 p.m. MST. In doing so, this marked the first crewed flight beyond low Earth orbit since 1972.
The mission lasted approximately 10 days, with four crew members on board the Artemis II. The goal of the flight was to validate the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems, SLS rocket, and ground operations with humans on board. NASA had sent the four astronauts – Commander Reid Wiseman (NASA), Pilot Victor Glover (NASA), Mission Specialist 1 Christina Hammock Koch (NASA), and Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen (Canadian Space Agency) – on a figure-eight, free-return trajectory around the moon and back.
Some of the other goals of the mission include:
- Demonstrating that life-support systems (including air, water, and temperature regulation) function properly with astronauts over long periods of time.
- Testing critical re-entry and splashdown procedure, including the “skip entry” technique for precise landing.
- Studying the effects of deep space (including radiation outside the Earth’s magnetic field) on human health.
- Confirming the systems are safe to carry astronauts to the lunar surface for the Artemis III
While on the mission, the four crew members had provided human-eye analysis of the lunar surface, specifically observing the 3.8-billion-year-old Orientale basin and documenting the color variations of volcanic glass deposits.
On top of their find with the Orientale basin, they also named two smaller, previously unnamed craters near the basin: Integrity (named after their spacecraft) and Carroll (to honor Reid Wiseman’s late wife).
The naming of a lunar crater as Integrity by the Artemis II crew was important because it served as a tribute to the collective effort behind the mission and symbolized the core values of the program.
Naming the other lunar crater “Carroll” by the Artemis II crew was a more emotional gesture to honor Carroll Wiseman, the late wife of the mission commander, who had passed away from cancer in 2020. It serves as a lasting tribute to her legacy, highlighting both the tight-knit family bond of the crew and providing a visible, symbolic memorial on the Moon.
While documenting the moon, the crew also captured high-resolution “Earthset” and “Earthrise” photos, featuring a crescent Earth lowering behind the lunar horizon, echoing the famous 1968 Apollo 8 images. After the release of these images on the internet, some people began to argue the legitimacy of the images and speculated whether or not they were created with AI.
However, the crew believed that the Earth looked like one united home, encouraging a shift in focus to protecting a shared environment and acknowledging humanity as a single people.
The crew reported possible “impact flashes,” which means that small meteorites are hitting the lunar surface and provided data on surface activity. They also witnessed and documented a total solar eclipse from lunar distance.
Initial inspections performed by the astronauts found that the thermal protection system worked as expected during the 35 times the speed reentry, with significantly reduced char loss compared to Artemis I.
The Artemis I spacecraft was an un-crewed, 25-day test flight that was sent to orbit the moon, and was intended to validate the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft systems. The spacecraft completed its 25.5 day flight around the Moon, with the Orion capsule splashing down safely on December 11, 2022.
However, the Artemis I Orion capsule was found with technical issues with the heat shield and delays due to fuel leaks, the mission was deemed an overall success.
After the Artemis II astronauts mission around the Moon, the Orion spacecraft successfully reentered Earth’s atmosphere and splashed down safely. The crew and spacecraft were protected by Orion’s thermal protection system as they fell nearly 35 times the speed of sound reentering the atmosphere.
Initial inspections of the spacecraft found that it performed as hoped for, with no unusual conditions identified. Diver imagery of the spacecraft’s heat shield initially taken after the splashdown and further inspection revealed that the char loss behavior observed on Artemis I was observed was significantly reduced, both in terms of quantity and size. The performance of the spacecraft was also consistent with the arc jet facility ground testing performed after Artemis I.
Airborne imagery of the Orion’s crew module was also obtained during the re-entry and will be reviewed within the coming weeks. This imagery will provide insight into the timing of the minimal char loss occurred as well as the other heat shield data that has been obtained from previous spacecraft.
The Artemis II had concluded successfully; achieving all the key technical goals, testing critical systems for human habitation in deep space, and paved the way for the future Artemis III lunar module landing.
