'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 10, 2026, 8:39 PM EDT

What comes next

The astronauts will stay inside the Orion capsule as it’s powered down and recovery teams move in to help them out and take their first breaths of fresh air on Earth since April 1.

They were initially expected to begin exiting the spacecraft around 9:06 p.m. ET but it's possible that could be pushed back. Christina Koch will exit first, followed by Victor Glover Jr., Jeremy Hansen, and Reid Wiseman last.

After they're helped out of the capsule, the crew will be moved onto a raft. From there, helicopters will lift each astronaut one by one and fly them to the USS John P. Murtha.

-ABC News' Briana Alvarado

Apr 10, 2026, 8:17 PM EDT

Crew in 'excellent shape'

Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman has indicated that all the crewmembers are in "excellent shape," according to the NASA broadcast.

The Artemis II crew floats in the Pacific Ocean of the coast of San Diego after splashing down, April 10, 2026.
NASA
Apr 10, 2026, 8:08 PM EDT

Splash down confirmed

The Artemis II crew splashes down in the Pacific Ocean of the coast of San Diego, April 10, 2026.
NASA

Orion has splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at the expected time of 8:07 p.m. ET, marking an end to the crew's historic 10-day, 695,081-mile journey around the moon and back.

Apr 10, 2026, 8:07 PM EDT

3 main chutes deploy

The three main parachutes have also successfully deployed, as Orion approaches splashdown.

NASA's Orion spacecraft with Artemis II crewmembers, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen is seen under parachutes as it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, April 10, 2026.
Bill Ingalls/NASA

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