'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 04, 2026, 7:34 PM EDT

Crew will get view of the moon never before seen by humans, NASA says

NASA leaders confirmed Monday's lunar flyby will allow the crew to see parts of the moon humans have never seen before.

NASA's Science Mission Directorate lead Kelsey Young explained Saturday that parts of the lunar far side remain unfamiliar to human eyes because the Apollo missions were planned to launch when the near side was illuminated.

This handout picture provided by NASA shows the Moon taken by an Artemis II crewmember through the window of the Orion spacecraft on April 3, 2026.
NASA via AFP via Getty Images

"So as they get closer, they'll be able to see features that human eyes have never before seen," Young at a news conference.

NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) Program John Honeycutt noted that even regions just imaged by robotic spacecraft are now visible to humans, referring to a photo taken from Orion on Friday.

The crew will also witness a solar eclipse during the mission lasting about 53 minutes, occurring an hour after Earthrise. 

-ABC News' Briana Alvarado

Apr 04, 2026, 4:18 PM EDT

NASA releases new 'selfie' of Orion capsule, prepares for Day 4

NASA released a brand-new high-resolution "selfie" of Orion in space.

Orion snapped this high-resolution selfie in space with a camera mounted on one of its solar array wings during a routine external inspection of the spacecraft on the second day into the Artemis II mission.
NASA

The space agency says the image was taken with a camera mounted on one of the spacecraft’s solar array wings during a routine inspection on the second day of the Artemis II mission.

The Artemis crew has several items on their agenda for the fourth day of their mission.

This artist’s concept depicts the nominal trajectory for NASA’s Artemis II test flight, an approximately 10-day mission that will send four astronauts around the Moon and back.
Goddard/JSC/NASA

At 9:10 p.m. ET, the space agency says Victor Glover will take manual control of Orion for a scheduled deep‑space handling test to see how the spacecraft responds to different maneuvers far from Earth.

In addition, NASA flight controllers have scheduled a 24‑hour acoustics test to help engineers better understand sound levels inside Orion’s cabin.

-ABC News' Briana Alvarado

Apr 04, 2026, 2:01 PM EDT

Artemis II crew woken up with Chappell Roan bop

The Artemis crew awoke from their sleep to the song "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan around 12:35 p.m. ET.

PHOTO: Crewmembers are shown on the Artemis II mission on flight day 3.
Crewmembers Christina Koch, mission specialist; Victor Glover, pilot; Reid Wiseman, commander; and Reid Wiseman, commander; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist; are shown on the Artemis II mission on flight day 3.
NASA

“We were all eagerly awaiting the chorus,” one crew member said.

Mission Specialist 1 Christina Koch gazing at Earth from Orion’s windows, a reminder of home as they travel toward the moon.
NASA
Commander Reid Wiseman gazes at Earth from Orion’s windows, a reminder of home as they travel toward the moon.
NASA

NASA also just released new downlinked images from Orion capturing Commander Reid Wiseman and Mission Specialist 1 Christina Koch gazing at Earth from Orion’s windows, a reminder of home as they travel toward the moon.

-ABC News' Briana Alvarado

Apr 04, 2026, 9:35 AM EDT

Orion passes midpoint as Artemis II enters Flight Day 4

Overnight, the Orion spacecraft moved closer to the moon than to Earth, with just over 119,000 miles still to go.

This handout picture by an Artemis II crew member provided by NASA shows Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen peering out the window of the Orion spacecraft on April 3, 2026.
NASA via AFP via Getty Images

According to NASA, after the first outbound trajectory correction burn was canceled, the crew prepared the cabin for the upcoming lunar observation period and tested Orion’s emergency communications system.

This handout picture provided by NASA shows the Moon taken by an Artemis II crewmember through the window of the Orion spacecraft on April 3, 2026.
NASA via AFP via Getty Images

The crew remains asleep now, with a scheduled wake-up around 11:35 a.m. CDT/ 12:35 p.m. EDT to begin Flight Day 4.

-ABC News’ Briana Alvarado

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