We’ve written quite a bit about the Artemis II launch and the four astronauts who boarded the Orion spacecraft for the journey, all with eager anticipation of what they would find and of their return home by way of a splashdown off the San Diego coast at approximately 8:07 pm ET, which everyone prayed would be safe and without incident.
And praise Jesus, the spacecraft and the parachutes did their thing:
🚨 BREAKING: Artemis II parachutes have successfully deployed
ALMOST THERE!
2 minutes out! pic.twitter.com/TqAwJdCoIt
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 11, 2026
Orion’s main parachute has deployed. The spacecraft has a system of 11 chutes that will slow it down from around 300 mph to 20 mph for splashdown.
Get more updates on the Artemis II blog: https://t.co/7gicm7DWBt pic.twitter.com/ReXHTfkFld
— NASA (@NASA) April 11, 2026
Splashdown confirmed – 8:07 PM ET on the nose – Commander Reid Wiseman confirmed that all four crew members are okay.
🚨 BREAKING — THEY MADE IT: The Artemis II crew have safely SPLASHED DOWN off America’s West Coast, the reentry went according to plan
They just made HISTORY traveling the further out in space than any human, and have now returned
MASSIVE WIN! 🇺🇸🇺🇸
“SPLASHDOWN CONFIRMED” pic.twitter.com/3TFtVWZd9A
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 11, 2026
The recovery teams are en route as of this writing.
The rocket successfully launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 6:24 pm on April 1st, carrying Mission Commander Reid Wiseman, along with fellow astronauts Christina Koch (mission specialist), Victor Glover (mission pilot), and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist).
LIFTOFF OF ARTEMIS II
Carrying the hopes and dreams of millions as four of humanity’s bravest ride a great pillar of fire destined for the Moon, carrying the pride of nations.
📸 – @NASASpaceflight pic.twitter.com/lvabLUs9uz
— Max Evans (@_MaxQ_) April 1, 2026
They’ve given us some stunning images, like one of what is called the far side of the moon:
History in the making
In this new image from our @NASAArtemis II crew, you can see Orientale basin on the right edge of the lunar disk. This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes. pic.twitter.com/iqjod6gqgz
— NASA (@NASA) April 5, 2026
There were also other special moments, like the naming of a lunar crater “Carroll,” which was the name of Wiseman’s wife, who died in 2020 at the age of 46 after a brave five-year battle with cancer.
SEE ALSO: Artemis II Astronaut Extemporaneously Delivers the Most Profound Easter Message Imaginable
Artemis II’s Pilot, Victor Glover, Deserves Better From the Media
Astronaut Reid Wiseman Has Nailed the Test That Matters Even More Than Artemis II
On Friday night, with people eager to see the astronauts arrive safely, NASA’s social media team was great about updating folks as to what was going on:
Orion’s crew and service module have separated. The crew module continues on its path towards Earth while the service module will harmlessly burn up in Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. The Artemis II return trajectory is designed to ensure any remaining debris does not… pic.twitter.com/k3v1CsFjuZ
— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) April 10, 2026
After a journey of more than 690,000 miles, the crew is nearly home.
The Artemis II crew will splash down off the coast of San Diego later today and, though it won’t be visible from land, you can still wave in their general direction to welcome them back to Earth! 👋 pic.twitter.com/ZZX23QCTpb
— NASA (@NASA) April 10, 2026
Yep! The recovery ships, divers, and support teams are all staged and ready. Splashdown is just the beginning of the Artemis II homecoming.
— NASA (@NASA) April 10, 2026
We also learned more about the dive recovery medical team, which, I dunno, has made me have thoughts of a second career as an astronaut (just sayin’):
The first face the Artemis II crew will see upon their return to Earth will be the face of a U.S. Navy Sailor.
Meet the Dive Medical Recovery Team of Artemis II: https://t.co/bB8leMmgFw pic.twitter.com/nwkcYqz3nU
— U.S. Fleet Forces (@USFleetForces) April 10, 2026
USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) is underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations supporting NASA’s Artemis II mission, standing ready to retrieve the crew and Orion spacecraft following splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. 🚀🌕
Artemis II marks the first crewed mission around the… pic.twitter.com/fVNjMh1F98
— U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (@INDOPACOM) April 9, 2026
There were also the inevitable Marco Rubio memes:
Marco on standby for when Artemis 2 splashes down in the pacific later 🤿 😂 pic.twitter.com/O8kUS02c9U
— Politi_Rican 🇵🇷 𝕏 🇺🇸 (@TheRicanMemes) April 10, 2026
Marco waiting for Artemis II to pick him up 😂 pic.twitter.com/zPc2uGRRZR
— Politi_Rican 🇵🇷 𝕏 🇺🇸 (@TheRicanMemes) April 1, 2026
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