Artemis II Crew Splashes Down After Historic Moon Flyby

The Artemis II crew — Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego on April 10, 2026, at 8:07 p.m. EDT. They became the first humans to fly toward the Moon since Apollo 17 in December 1972.

The 10-day mission took the crew on a trajectory around the Moon, during which they set a new record for the farthest distance ever traveled from Earth by humans. The spacecraft was recovered by the USS John P. Murtha, where medical teams confirmed all four astronauts were in excellent health.

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Victor Glover made history as the first Black astronaut to fly beyond low Earth orbit, while Christina Koch became the first woman to travel toward the Moon. Jeremy Hansen was the first non-American astronaut to fly on a lunar mission, representing Canada's partnership in the Artemis program.

NASA Administrator praised the mission as a major milestone toward returning humans to the lunar surface with Artemis III. The successful flight validated the Orion spacecraft's life support systems for deep-space travel and confirmed the heat shield could withstand re-entry speeds from lunar distances.

The mission generated worldwide excitement and reignited public interest in space exploration. Schools across the globe organized watch parties for the splashdown, and social media engagement with NASA's channels reached record levels during the mission.