Artemis II leaves Moon’s pull and heads home; splashdown set for Friday
Orion has passed beyond the Moon’s sphere of influence after the first crewed lunar orbit since Apollo 17. The four-person crew — Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen — will test reentry procedures and are scheduled to splash down in the Pacific off San Diego on Friday, concluding a 10-day mission that validates systems for a planned 2028 lunar landing.
Apr 7, 2026, 11:21 AM EDT
Why it matters:
- Artemis II is the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon in more than 50 years and is a full systems dress rehearsal for NASA’s planned return to the lunar surface.
Driving the news:
- NASA says the Orion capsule has exited the Moon’s sphere of influence and is en route back to Earth. - The four crew members are Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.
The big picture:
- Artemis II is a 10-day test flight designed to validate Orion systems, human physiology responses in deep space, and procedures needed for future lunar landings. - The mission is a stepping stone toward Artemis IV, currently planned to attempt the first crewed lunar landing at the south pole around 2028.
By the numbers:
- Orion set a crewed-distance record at about 406,771 km from Earth. - The spacecraft came within roughly 6,545 km of the lunar surface at its closest approach during the flyby.
What's next:
- Splashdown is scheduled for Friday in the Pacific off the coast of San Diego; recovery teams will retrieve the crew and conduct postflight medical checks. - Flight controllers will continue to run trajectory-correction burns if needed and debrief the crew in midweek public calls with ISS astronauts and mission teams.
Worth noting:
- Early in the flight Orion experienced a partial communications outage and a separate flashing fault with the onboard toilet; both issues were resolved with ground support. - Crew members observed the lunar far side and a total solar eclipse not visible from Earth during the mission’s flyby.
The bottom line:
- Artemis II completed its primary lunar-orbit objectives and is now headed home to validate the systems and procedures NASA will rely on for future lunar landings.