NASA's Artemis II Moon Mission to Splash Down Off San Diego

Southern Californians can watch the livestream as the Orion capsule returns from lunar orbit.

Apr. 10, 2026 at 2:08pm

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A highly textured, abstract painting in soft oranges, reds, and blues, with sweeping geometric arcs and precise spirals, conceptually representing the fiery forces of the Orion capsule's reentry through the atmosphere.An artist's conceptual rendering of the Orion capsule's dramatic reentry, as NASA's Artemis II mission returns astronauts from lunar orbit.San Diego Today

Four days after astronauts flew around the moon for the first time in a half-century, NASA's Artemis II crew is set to rip through the atmosphere at roughly 24,000 mph and splash down off the coast of San Diego around 5 p.m. Pacific time on Friday. While the reentry and splashdown won't be visible to the public, NASA will livestream the event, and the San Diego Air & Space Museum will host a viewing party.

Why it matters

The Artemis program aims to land humans back on the moon, with NASA eventually hoping to establish a lunar base that will serve as the testing grounds for future missions to Mars. This Artemis II mission is a critical test of the Orion capsule's life support systems and other key technologies to ensure a smoother ride for future crews.

The details

The four Artemis II astronauts, including SoCal native Victor Glover, will experience a fiery reentry as the Orion capsule agitates the air around it to roughly half as hot as the sun's surface. NASA will use a new, more direct reentry technique after the heat shield for the 2022 Artemis I test mission unexpectedly chipped in more than 100 spots. During reentry, NASA and Department of Defense test pilots will chase the capsule in airplanes, gathering data to better understand how the heat shield holds up.

  • Reentry is expected to begin around 4:53 p.m. Pacific time on Friday, April 12, 2026.
  • NASA expects to lose communication with the Orion capsule for about six minutes as it is enveloped in a fireball.
  • The capsule is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean around 5:07 p.m. Pacific time.

The players

Victor Glover

Artemis II pilot and a native of Southern California, who has been thinking about reentry since he was assigned the mission in 2023.

Jeff Radigan

Artemis II Lead Flight Director, who cautioned the public to avoid the splashdown area due to falling debris.

Orion Capsule

The spacecraft that will carry the Artemis II crew through reentry and splashdown.

U.S.S. John P. Murtha

A 680-foot-long, 25,000-ton Navy transport dock warship that will recover the Orion capsule and provide immediate medical evaluation for the astronauts.

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What they’re saying

“We've still got two more days, and riding a fireball through the atmosphere is profound as well.”

— Victor Glover, Artemis II Pilot

“The path we're coming in, I don't expect it to be visible for folks in California.”

— Jeff Radigan, Artemis II Lead Flight Director

What’s next

NASA plans to launch Artemis III, a mission in Earth's orbit to test docking the Orion spacecraft with SpaceX's and Blue Origin's lunar landers, in 2027. It aspires to launch Artemis IV, which would put humans on the surface of the moon, in 2028.

The takeaway

The Artemis II mission is a crucial step in NASA's ambitious plan to return humans to the moon, with the ultimate goal of establishing a lunar base that will serve as a testing ground for future missions to Mars.