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Artemis II crew seen on recovery ship after moon mission return
NASA’s Artemis II astronauts were seen being helped across the deck of a US navy recovery ship.
Published On 11 Apr 2026
The NASA Artemis II crew, from left, mission specialist Christina Koch, mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, commander Reid Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover, front, pose for a group photo inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home. [NASA/Handout via Reuters]
The Orion spacecraft with Artemis II crew members aboard approaches the surface of the Pacific Ocean for splashdown off the coast of California. [Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP Photo]
The Artemis II Orion capsule splashes down in the Pacific Ocean. [NASA via AP Photo]
US Navy divers prepare to deploy in small boats from the well deck of USS John P Murtha to recover the Artemis II astronauts. [Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP Photo]
Recovery teams work to secure the Orion spacecraft carrying Artemis II crew members after splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. [Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP Photo]
People wait for a glimpse of the return of NASA's Artemis II along the beach in Coronado, California. [Gregory Bull/AP Photo]
Astronaut Victor Glover, the Artemis II pilot, walks off the flight deck after arriving on board USS John P Murtha after he and fellow crewmates were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown. [Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP Photo]
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen sits in a Navy MH-60 Seahawk on the flight deck of USS John P Murtha affter splashdown. [Bill Ingalls/NASA/AP Photo]
Astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch sit on a Navy MH-60 Seahawk on the flight deck of USS John P Murtha after splashdown. [Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP Photo]
Astronaut Reid Wiseman, the Artemis II commander, is assisted off the flight deck after arriving on board the USS John P Murtha. [Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP Photo]
Crowds watch the Artemis II Orion capsule splash down off the coast of San Diego at the Air and Space Museum in San Diego, California. [Arafat Barbakh/Reuters]
International Space Station crew members, NASA astronauts Chris Williams, Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, try to view the Artemis II crew's re-entry to Earth from the cupola on the ISS, in this picture released on April 10, 2026. [Jessica Meir on board via X/Handout via Reuters]
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NASA’s Artemis II astronauts splash down on Earth after lunar mission
Crew safely complete first mission to travel around the Moon in more than 50 years.
EXPLAINER
NASA prepares for Artemis II splashdown: When it happens and how to watch
The Orion spacecraft will make its return to Earth at 00:07 GMT, splashing down off the San Diego coast.
Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window on April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew's flyby of the Moon. [Handout/NASA/Getty Images via AFP]
The Orion spacecraft, crescent moon and a crescent Earth on April 6, 2026. [Handout/NASA via AFP]
Earth sets over the moon's curved limb in this photo captured by the Artemis II crew during their journey around the far side of the moon. [Handout/NASA/Getty Images via AFP]
The Artemis II astronauts wrapped up their lunar flyby as they continue their journey back to Earth. [Handout/NASA via AFP]
The Orion spacecraft and the moon backlit by the sun during a solar eclipse on April 6, 2026. [Handout/NASA via AFP]
The moon fully eclipsing the sun. [Handout/NASA/Getty Images via AFP]
The heavily cratered terrain of the eastern edge of the South Pole-Aitken basin of the moon, as seen from the Orion spacecraft on April 6, 2026. [Handout/NASA via AFP]
A close-up view of the Vavilov Crater on the rim of the older and larger Hertzsprung basin of the moon, as seen from the Orion spacecraft. [Handout/NASA via AFP]
The moon with the Orientale basin visible in the centre, with a black patch of ancient lava in the center that punched through the moon's crust in an eruption billions of years ago. [Handout/NASA via AFP]
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EXPLAINER
A visual guide to Artemis II and previous missions to the moon
Artemis II is expected to break the record for the farthest distance humans have travelled from Earth.
A view of Earth taken by Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman from one of the Orion spacecraft’s windows after the crew completed the translunar injection burn to send the craft towards the moon on April 2, 2026. [Handout/NASA via Reuters]
A view of the Orion capsule taken with a camera mounted on one of its solar array wings during a routine external inspection of the spacecraft on the second day of the Artemis II mission towards the Moon. [Handout/NASA via Reuters]
A view of the moon taken by one of the Artemis II's four crew members through the window of the Orion spacecraft on the third day of the NASA mission. [Handout/NASA via Reuters]
Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows for a look back at Earth. [Handout/NASA via Reuters]
The Artemis II mission left Earth on April 1, 2026, on a 10-day journey around the moon and back. [Handout/NASA via AP]
The crew is expected to swing around the far side of the moon early this coming week, a manoeuvre not tried in more than 50 years. [Handout/NASA via Reuters]
Overnight from Sunday into Monday US time, Orion is due to enter what NASA calls the “lunar sphere of influence” when the moon's gravity will have a stronger pull on the spacecraft than the Earth's. [Handout/NASA via Reuters]
Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch is on board the Orion with her fellow Americans Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover and Canadian Jeremy Hansen, also a mission specialist. [Handout/NASA via Reuters]
+4
NASA releases stunning first photos of Earth from Artemis II moon mission
The crew were about 100,000 miles (160,000 kilometres) from Earth and were quickly closing in on the moon.
EXPLAINER
How long will Artemis II take to reach the moon, and what happens next?
The capsule is expected to reach the moon on about April 6, the sixth day of the mission.
NASA successfully launches historic Artemis II moon mission
The mission is a major step in NASA’s plan to return humans to the moon and eventually send astronauts to Mars.
