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

NASA says the Artemis II return is on track, with teams focused on the final phase of the mission: the reentry, splashdown and recovery sequence.

From the moment Orion enters Earth’s atmosphere to the time it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, the entire sequence takes about 13 minutes.

“It’s 13 minutes of things that have to go right,” NASA Flight Director Jeff Radigan said during the final mission status briefing, adding that in his view, “it’s more, in my head, about an hour and a half of things that have to go right.”

Officials also addressed public visibility of entry and splashdown along the West Coast. Based on the planned trajectory, Radigan said, “I don’t expect it to be visible for the folks in California,” noting that the spacecraft will be targeting a landing area well offshore.

He cautioned the public to stay clear of the area, pointing to the debris that is expected to fall.

NASA confirmed a small leak in the service module’s oxidizer system, but officials said it will not affect the return.

-ABC News' Briana Alvarado

The Artemis II crew was awakened Thursday by the song “Lonesome Drifter,” by country singer Charley Crockett, as day nine of their 10-day flight officially began.

Reentry and splashdown preparations for a scheduled Friday splashdown off the California coast are now in full swing. The crew is scheduled to execute their second return trajectory burn of the Orion crew module at 10:53 p.m. ET today.

NASA will hold another mission status briefing at 3:30 p.m. ET.

-ABC News' Briana Alvarado

The weather forecast remains good for the scheduled splashdown of the Artemis II Orion crew module, according to NASA.

Tentatively scheduled for 5:07 p.m. PT/8:07 p.m. ET Friday, NASA says the splashdown site will likely be within 100 miles of the coast of San Diego, Calif., where the Navy's amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha will lead recovery efforts.

The majority of the weather criteria are in order to have a safe recovery mission by sea and by air. Visibility will likely be within the necessary guidelines for the safe flight of recovery helicopters, especially from 50 to 100 miles off the coast.

Weather criteria that need to be met for a safe splashdown and recovery include significant wave heights of less than six feet, no precipitation or lightning within 35 miles of the splashdown site, and winds under 28 mph, with minimal cloud cover and good visibility, according to NASA.

-ABC News' Kenton Gewecke

The Artemis II crew spoke to reporters from aboard the Orion spacecraft as they near the end of their historic lunar mission.

Cmdr. Reid Wiseman described one of the mission's most powerful experiences: a tribute to his late wife, Carroll, when Hansen asked Mission Control for permission to name a lunar crater in her honor.

"That was kind of the pinnacle moment of the mission for me," Wiseman said. "That's where the four of us were the most forged, the most bonded."

The moment, he added, left the entire crew in tears and strengthened their connection as a team.

Pilot Victor Glover said the mission reaffirmed his long-held belief about Earth's fragility.

"It doesn't change it -- it absolutely reaffirms that we live on a fragile planet in the vacuum of space," he said. "It's almost like seeing living proof."

Despite witnessing the moon up close, he said the experience reinforced humanity's shared responsibility to "find joy and lifting each other up."

Mission specialist Christina Koch described life inside the spacecraft as both cramped and surprisingly fluid.

"Yes, it feels bigger in microgravity and yes, we are bumping into each other 100% of the time," she said, noting that even simple tasks become team efforts.

-ABC News' Jason Volack