- NASA’s Orion spacecraft landed safely in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, April 10, 2026, successfully completing the 10-day Artemis II mission to the moon’s orbit.
- This flight marks the first time humans have traveled to the lunar vicinity since 1972, featuring a diverse crew that included the first woman, the first person of color, and the first Canadian to make the trip.
- The safe return of the four-person crew confirms that NASA’s new deep-space technology is ready for the next phase: landing humans on the moon’s surface by 2028.
The long-awaited return of humans to deep space reached a triumphant conclusion on Friday night as the Artemis II mission ended with a safe arrival in the Pacific Ocean.
Eko Hot Blog reports that at exactly 5:07 p.m. PT, the Orion spacecraft drifted into the water off the coast of San Diego, supported by three massive parachutes.
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The landing brought an end to a 695,000-mile journey that took four astronauts around the moon and back, successfully reviving a path of exploration that had been dormant since the final Apollo mission over five decades ago.
Led by Commander Reid Wiseman, the crew, which included Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, traveled further into space than any human team in history, reaching a distance of 252,756 miles from Earth.
During their closest pass to the moon, they flew just 4,067 miles above the lunar surface. Astronaut Christina Koch shared that seeing the moon so close transformed it from a “distant light” into a massive, craggy world, a perspective that only 28 humans in history have ever experienced firsthand.
Life inside the small Orion capsule, which is roughly the size of a camper van, was not without its struggles.
The crew had to perform mid-flight repairs on a malfunctioning waste system and manage the physical toll of weightlessness.
However, they also found moments of joy, such as a zero-gravity “egg hunt” on Easter Sunday.
One of the most emotional moments of the mission occurred when the crew proposed naming a lunar crater after the late wife of Commander Wiseman, a gesture that highlighted the deeply personal nature of this historic voyage.
With the astronauts now safely back on Earth, NASA and its international partners have the data needed to move forward with the Artemis III mission, which aims to put boots back on the moon’s surface.
The success of Artemis II proves that modern spacecraft can safely carry humans through the harsh environment of deep space and bring them home.
For the first time in a generation, the moon is no longer just a destination for telescopes and robots, but a place where humans are once again ready to explore.
