PHOTOS OF THE DAY: THE ARTEMIS 2 CREW IS SAFELY BACK ON EARTH!

NASA \ Josh Valcarcel

Over nine days after embarking on their historic lunar trip from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Artemis 2 astronauts are safely back on Earth! Their Orion capsule Integrity successfully splashed down into the Pacific Ocean 50 miles off the coast of San Diego at 5:07 pm, PDT yesterday.

A few hours after splashdown, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen were transported back to shore by way of helicopters from the U.S. Navy recovery ship, USS John P. Murtha. The Artemis 2 crew then took a NASA charter jet back to Houston to reunite with their families. Navy personnel fully secured Integrity inside the well deck of the John P. Murtha earlier this morning.

With Artemis 2 now in the history books, NASA is looking ahead to Artemis 3...which is scheduled to launch on an Earth-orbiting test flight later next year! The core stage booster for Artemis 3's Space Launch System rocket will roll out of NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans on April 20th—in preparation for its trip to Kennedy Space Center to complete final assembly and eventual launch preps. Stay tuned!


NASA


NASA


NASA / Joel Kowsky


NASA / Bill Ingalls


Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class David Rowe


Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class David Rowe


NASA / Joel Kowsky


NASA / Bill Ingalls


NASA / Bill Ingalls


NASA / Joel Kowsky


NASA / Joel Kowsky

Do you have rocket fever? We have something for that.

Digital creators and social media storytellers are invited to register to attend the rollout of the Artemis III core stage from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans later this month. Registration is open from April… pic.twitter.com/fJwP00uhEi

— NASA (@NASA) April 7, 2026