Artemis II will splash down off the coast of California today. Here’s how to watch
Artemis II and its crew of four astronauts will return to Earth on Friday as their Orion capsule blazes through the atmosphere in a fireball before a gentle splashdown in the ocean off Southern California.
The 10-day moon mission launched into space on April 6 and reached the farthest distance from the Earth ever traveled by humans, at 248,655 miles away according to NASA.
Aboard the Orion spacecraft, Cal Poly grad Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen completed the first lunar flyby since Apollo 17’s attempt in 1972, capturing high-definition photos of the moon’s surface and witnessing a solar eclipse.
Orion is set to land off the coast of San Diego, in the Pacific Ocean at 5:07 p.m. on Friday.
Here’s what to know about Artemis II splashdown and how to watch it.
What happens during Orion’s return to Earth?
NASA published a timeline of the anticipated splashdown on its website, describing what to expect in the tense final moments of the Artemis II mission.
Around 4:33 p.m., the Orion spacecraft’s crew module is expected to separate from the service module, preparing to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
Temperatures around 3,000 degrees will build up around the module, NASA said.
Twenty minutes later, the spacecraft will be traveling nearly 26,635 miles per hour, about 400,000 feet above Earth’s surface, NASA said. That will mark the start of a six-minute communications blackout as plasma builds up around the spacecraft.
Parachutes are scheduled to deploy in phases to slow the spacecraft down as it approaches the surface and plunges into the sea.
NASA and U.S. military teams will be staged to retrieve the astronauts from the craft for medical examinations and a return to shore via the USS John P. Murtha, NASA said.
The crew then ill board an aircraft heading to NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.
How do I watch the splashdown?
Francisco Contreras, a board member for the San Diego Astronomy Association, told CBS8 that it will possible to see Orion’s re-entry from San Diego County.
“I would say, head to the coast. Because it’s so high up and so far away, you should be able to see it from the coast,” he told the news outlet. “As long as you can have a clear view northwest, that would be your best chances to see it.”
Online, NASA will broadcast the splashdown on its website at nasa.gov.
NASA+ will stream the broadcast as well, and it will also be available on third-party streaming services like Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix and by downloading the NASA app on Roku or Apple devices.
On social media apps, the space agency will stream the splashdown on Youtube, Facebook, Twitch and X.
What happened during lunar flyby?
The highlight of the mission was the lunar observation Monday.
During the roughly seven-hour window, the spacecraft was “close enough to the moon for the crew to make detailed observations of geologic features on the lunar surface,” NASA said.
At approximately 3:44 p.m., the mission entered a planned communications blackout for about 40 minutes as the moon blocked radio signals needed to maintain contact. That was the point when the spacecraft was closest to the moon, a mere 4,070 miles above its surface.
“As we prepare to go out of radio communication, we’re still going to feel your love from Earth,” Glover said from the spacecraft. “And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you, from the moon. We will see you on the other side.”
Around 5:35 p.m., the crew also witnessed a solar eclipse as the spacecraft, moon and sun all aligned.
Throughout the flyby, Glover offered detailed descriptions of what the crew were seeing. As the moon blocked out the sun so that only its corona was visible, Glover noted the beauty of a sight so rarely seen by human eyes.
“It is amazing the brightness where the sunset is still bright, and you still have a distinct Earthshine,” he said.
This story was originally published April 10, 2026 at 11:00 AM.
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