'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 06, 2026, 7:11 PM EDT

Orion makes its closest approach to the moon

Shortly after losing communication with NASA, the Artemis II crew is making its closest approach to the moon.

Orion will be about 4,070 miles above the surface of the moon, according to NASA.

The Artemis II astronauts will be the first humans to see most of the far side of the moon, or the side not visible from Earth, since the Apollo missions.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch lays on her back as she take photographs of the Moon out the window of the Orion spacecraft, April 6, 2026.
NASA

"It turns out there's about 60% of the far side, I think, that has never been seen by human eyes because of the lighting conditions," Reid Wiseman, mission commander, said during a news conference on March 29. "Apollo always wanted that light on the front side of the moon for their landing and launch capability. ... We've seen it in satellite photos, but humans have never, ever seen that before. That's cool."

Apr 06, 2026, 6:48 PM EDT

Artemis II crew passes behind the moon, enters communications blackout

The Artemis II crew has reached the far side of the moon and has entered a communications blackout, NASA said.

The federal space agency said the communications blackout is planned and should last for about 40 minutes as Orion passes behind the moon.

PHOTO: A crescent shaped Earth is seen behind the Moon as seen just before the Orion spacecraft flew on the back side of the Moon, April 6, 2026.
A crescent shaped Earth is seen behind the crescent Moon as seen just before the Orion spacecraft flew on the back side of the Moon, April 6, 2026.
NASA

The moon blocks the radio signals needed for Mission Control to maintain contact with Orion via the Deep Space Network, which is NASA's international array of giant radio antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions.

Apr 06, 2026, 5:13 PM EDT

Artemis II crew to be closest to moon at 7:00 p.m. ET

NASA has said the Artemis II crew will now make its closest approach to the moon at 7:00 p.m. ET and will reach its furthest distance from Earth at 7:02 p.m. ET.

Previously, the crew was supposed to make its closest approach at 7:02 p.m. ET and reach maximum distance from the Earth at 7:07 p.m. ET.

The Orion spacecraft flies towards the moon, April 6, 2026.
NASA

-ABC News' Briana Alvarado

Apr 06, 2026, 2:53 PM EDT

Artemis II crew begins historic lunar flyby

The Artemis II crew's historic lunar flyby began around 2:45 p.m. ET.

The flyby, which should take around seven hours, will see the Orion spacecraft be close enough to the moon for the crew "to make detailed observations of geologic features on the lunar surface," according to NASA.

NASA said coverage will include live views of the moon taken by cameras that are mounted on Orion's solar arrays.

A visualization of the Orion spacecraft approaching the moon.
NASA

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