Artemis II Crew Prepares for Splashdown Off San Diego

NASA Administrator Discusses Damage to Mobile Launcher Ahead of Capsule's Return

Apr. 9, 2026 at 4:14pm

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A bold, abstract painting in soft blues, greens, and grays, depicting the sweeping, geometric trajectory of the Orion spacecraft as it orbits the Moon and returns to Earth, conveying the structural order and precision of the mission.The Artemis II mission will test key systems and capabilities required for future lunar exploration, as the Orion spacecraft completes a critical flyby of the Moon before returning to Earth.San Diego Today

The Artemis II crew is completing final tasks aboard the Orion capsule as they prepare for their scheduled splashdown off the coast of San Diego on Friday night. The crew will demonstrate how to construct a radiation shelter and test the capsule's manual piloting capabilities before returning to Earth.

Why it matters

The Artemis II mission is a critical step toward NASA's goal of returning humans to the Moon, as it will test key systems and capabilities required for future lunar exploration. The splashdown off the California coast will also provide valuable data to support future Artemis missions.

The details

During a news conference, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced that the mobile launcher used for the Artemis I launch will roll back to the Vehicle Assembly Building in the coming days, months ahead of schedule. Isaacman stated that the tower suffered considerable damage during the previous launch, but mission managers say most of the damage this time is cosmetic.

  • The Orion capsule is currently about 200,000 miles away from Earth.
  • The Artemis II crew will splashdown off the coast of San Diego on Friday night at 8:07 p.m. EDT.
  • Today, the crew will demonstrate how to construct a radiation shelter and test the capsule's manual piloting capabilities.

The players

Jared Isaacman

NASA Administrator.

Orion

The spacecraft that will carry the Artemis II crew on their lunar flyby mission.

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What they’re saying

“The tower suffered considerable damage during Artemis I, but mission managers say most of the damage this time around is cosmetic.”

— Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator

What’s next

NASA is expected to provide more details about the splashdown timeline later today.

The takeaway

The successful completion of the Artemis II mission will be a major milestone for NASA's Artemis program, demonstrating key capabilities required for future lunar exploration and paving the way for the first crewed landing on the Moon since the Apollo era.