Links are not yet activated.
To activate, add a link back to submitpr.org from your website and contact @jaycosta on Telegram,
or pay via Solana (from $19.95) for instant activation.
# NASA Artemis II Splashdown: Orion Capsule Returns After Historic Moon MissionNASA's Orion spacecraft *Integrity* splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at approximately 8:07 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 10, 2026, marking the successful conclusion of the Artemis II mission — the first crewed voyage to the Moon's vicinity in more than 50 years.
The four-member crew traveled 695,081 miles over 10 days, reaching a maximum distance of 252,760 miles from Earth and breaking the record set by Apollo 13.
Artemis II carried four astronauts:
- **G. Reid Wiseman** — Commander (NASA)
- **Victor J. Glover** — Pilot (NASA)
- **Christina Hammock Koch** — Mission Specialist (NASA)
- **Jeremy Hansen** — Mission Specialist (Canadian Space Agency)
Glover became the first Black astronaut to travel beyond low Earth orbit. Hansen is the first non-American to fly on a lunar mission.
The crew launched from Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39B on April 1 at 6:35 p.m. EDT aboard NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. After entering a high Earth orbit to test life support systems, Orion performed a lunar flyby on April 6, passing behind the far side of the Moon at a distance of 4,070 miles.
Christina Koch described the flyby as producing an "overwhelming sense of being moved by looking at the moon," while noting the crew was "bumping into each other 100% of the time" inside the compact capsule.
The return sequence began on April 10:
- **7:33 p.m. EDT** — Service module separation
- **7:53 p.m. EDT** — Atmospheric entry at approximately 23,864 mph (nearly Mach 32)
- **8:03 p.m. EDT** — Drogue parachute deployment at 22,000 feet
- **8:04 p.m. EDT** — Three main parachutes deployed at 6,000 feet
- **8:07 p.m. EDT** — Splashdown approximately 600 miles off San Diego
For full coverage, visit https://www.linos.ai/science/nasa-artemis-ii-splashdown-orion-moon-mission-2026/
About Linos NEWS: Linos NEWS (https://www.linos.ai) delivers breaking news and in-depth analysis across politics, technology, business, science, health, world affairs, sports, and entertainment.