The Artemis II crew — NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — splashed down in an Orion space capsule Friday after a 9-day mission to the moon and back.
After a nearly 10-day journey that took the Artemis II astronauts around the moon, in front of an eclipse and farther away from Earth than any humans before them, the crew of four have made a dramatic return home. The Artemis II astronauts share a group hug aboard the Orion capsule.
The four astronauts on NASA's Artemis II lunar mission are set to return to Earth Friday evening. The crew is wrapping up a journey around the moon with a planned splashdown off San Diego, Calif.
Some things are hard to calculate in dollars and cents. NASA's space programs definitely fall into this category. The agency has an enormous annual budget, and its portfolio includes powerful spacecraft, telescopes, and weather and asteroid forecasting.
Published April 10, 2026 last updated April 10, 2026 The four crew members are preparing to reenter the Earth's atmosphere before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast. Follow DW.
NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman looks at Earth through Orion's main cabin windows as the crew travels towards the moon. Wiseman and his three crewmates are set to return to Earth on Friday.
Morning news brief Audio will be available later today. Vance to serve as lead US negotiator in peace talks to end Iran war, Israel and Lebanon to hold ceasefire talks, NASA's Artemis II astronauts return to Earth Friday.
The four astronauts aboard the Artemis II mission's Orion spacecraft spoke to the press from space for the first time since completing a lunar flyby that took them a record distance from earth.
The Artemis II crew gave another throwback to 20th century space endeavors, when they on Tuesday snapped a breathtaking shot of an "Earthset," or the moment the Earth dips below the moon's horizon. The photo is a nod to an iconic Earthrise image, which an Apollo 8 astronaut took in 1968.
The astronauts on the Artemis II mission made history on Monday, reaching the farthest distance in space of any human, after surpassing the previous record set by the Apollo 13 mission in April 1970.
Artemis II commander and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman looks out one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows at the moon ahead of the crew's lunar flyby. After successfully looping around the moon, the space capsule is now headed back toward Earth.
Trump repeats threat to bomb Iran's infrastructure if a deal isn't reached, strikes in the Middle East intensify as Trump's deadline looms, Artemis II crew heads home after historic moon mission.