'Welcome home, Artemis': Crew celebrates historic 10-day moon mission

After their historic lunar flyby, the crew safely splashed down in the Pacific.

ByMary Kekatos, Julia Jacobo, Leah Sarnoff, Ivan Pereira, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: April 11, 2026, 5:12 PM EDT

NASA's Artemis II mission lifted off on April 1 at 6:35 p.m. ET from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The four-person crew completed a 695,081-mile, 10-day journey around the moon, also known as a lunar fly-by.

A "textbook" splashdown took place at 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday, April 10.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Apr 02, 2026, 10:19 AM EDT

8-year-old watches his plush toy rocket to the moon with Artemis II

A second-grader's plush toy design has rocketed to space alongside astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover Jr., Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen on board the Artemis II moon mission.

Lucas Ye, 8, designed a white moon plush named "Rise," which wears an Earth cap with a brim highlighting the galaxy and rockets.

Lucas Ye, an 8-year-old from California, designed a moon mascot plush toy called "Rise" that will travel to space on the Artemis II mission to the moon.
Courtesy Freelancer

Lucas and his family were invited to witness the Wednesday evening launch of Artemis II at the Kennedy Space Center, an experience that Lucas described to "Good Morning America" on Thursday as "really cool."

"I feel very lucky. A little idea can turn out into a big thing," Lucas told "GMA."

Read more here.

-ABC News' Yi-Jin Yu and Nic Uff

Apr 01, 2026, 8:45 PM EDT

Artemis II crew enters high Earth orbit

The Artemis II crew has entered high Earth orbit about two hours after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center.

The crew will spend about a day in orbit testing Orion's systems. If everything is operating properly, Orion will be instructed on Thursday to perform the translunar injection burn, which will send the crew and spacecraft along their path to the moon.

NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen are seen in the Orion spacecraft, April 2, 2026.
NASA

NASA said high Earth orbit extends "about 46,000 miles beyond Earth."

-ABC News' Briana Alvarado

Apr 01, 2026, 8:31 PM EDT

NASA administrator says astronauts in 'great spirits'

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Artemis II marked America's "grand return to the moon" during a Wednesday evening news conference.

Isaacman said NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover Jr. and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, "are safe. They're secure, and they're in great spirits."

"We will continue to monitor their health and status as we move into the next phase of the Artemis II mission," he continued. "You have our commitment to keep the public as informed as possible on this historic mission.

Earth is seen from the Orion spacecraft, April 2, 2026.
NASA

"We will hold our celebration until this crew is under parachutes and splashes down off the West Coast," Isaacman said.

Isaacman said about 51 minutes into the flight, during a planned handover between satellites, there was a temporary loss of communications with the ground team not able to receive data from the crew or spacecraft. However, he said communications have since been restored.

Apr 01, 2026, 7:36 PM EDT

Artemis II launch in photos

NASA's Artemis II mission launched on Wednesday evening, beginning the crew's 685,000-mile, 10-day journey to and from the moon.

The Orion spacecraft will loop astronauts around the moon and go farther into deep space than humans have ever traveled.

Here's a look at the launch in photos:

NASA's Artemis II mission to fly by the moon, comprising of the Space Launch System rocket with the Orion crew capsule, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 1, 2026.
Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters
NASA's Artemis II mission to fly by the moon, comprising of the Space Launch System rocket with the Orion crew capsule, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 1, 2026.
Joe Skipper/Reuters
NASA's Artemis II mission to fly by the moon, comprising of the Space Launch System rocket with the Orion crew capsule, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 1, 2026.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
People observe the launch of Artemis II from the A. Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville, Fla., on April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Gerardo Mora/Getty Images
The Space Launch System rocket carrying NASA's Artemis II Orion crew capsule ascends after liftoff, with its solid rocket boosters already detached, from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 1, 2026.
Steve Nesius/Reuters

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