Artemis II Crew Prepares for Historic Splashdown in California

NASA and U.S. Navy teams await the return of the four-person crew after their 10-day lunar flyby mission.

Apr. 7, 2026 at 12:10pm

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A highly structured abstract painting in soft earth tones, featuring sweeping geometric arcs, concentric circles, and precise orbital spirals, conceptually representing the intricate scientific forces and trajectories of the Artemis II mission.An abstract visualization of the complex forces and trajectories involved in the historic Artemis II lunar flyby and splashdown off the California coast.San Diego Today

The Artemis II crew is set to make history as they travel around the far side of the moon, ending with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on April 10. After years of training, NASA's Artemis Landing and Recovery team and U.S. Navy personnel will be waiting in the ocean to retrieve the crew, who will then be evaluated and flown to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Why it matters

The Artemis II mission marks a significant milestone in NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon. This mission will pave the way for future lunar landings, including the first Artemis lunar landing targeted for early 2028.

The details

The Artemis II crew, consisting of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will conduct a lunar flyby on April 6 before returning to Earth. During the flyby, the crew will pass the far side of the moon, traveling farther into space than humans have ever gone before. After the 10-day mission, the crew will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, where they will be retrieved by NASA and U.S. Navy personnel and transported to Naval Base San Diego's USS John P. Murtha for medical evaluation before being flown to Houston.

  • The Artemis II crew took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1.
  • The crew will conduct a lunar flyby on Monday, April 6.
  • The crew is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 p.m. EDT (5:07 p.m. PDT) on Friday, April 10.
  • NASA and U.S. Department of War personnel, including an elite team of U.S. Navy divers, will be waiting in the ocean to retrieve the Artemis II crew.
  • The four astronauts will be taken by helicopter to Naval Base San Diego's USS John P. Murtha, where they will be evaluated post-mission by the ship's medical personnel before being sent back to shore and flown out to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The players

Artemis II Crew

The four-person crew of the Artemis II mission, consisting of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

NASA's Artemis Landing and Recovery Team

The team responsible for retrieving the Artemis II crew from the Pacific Ocean after their splashdown.

U.S. Navy

The U.S. Department of War personnel, including an elite team of U.S. Navy divers, who will assist in the recovery of the Artemis II crew.

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What’s next

NASA is targeting early 2028 for the first Artemis lunar landing, part of Artemis IV, along with a lunar surface mission expected to launch by late 2028, part of Artemis V.

The takeaway

The Artemis II mission represents a significant milestone in NASA's Artemis program, paving the way for future lunar landings and the establishment of a sustainable human presence on the moon. The successful splashdown and recovery of the crew off the coast of California will be a historic moment, showcasing the collaboration between NASA, the U.S. Navy, and international partners in pushing the boundaries of human space exploration.