The four Artemis II astronauts are preparing to end their 10-day mission with a Pacific Ocean splashdown on Friday night, as Nasa’s Orion capsule completes its return to Earth beneath three giant parachutes.
The landing will mark another milestone in human spaceflight. Once the crew reaches the ocean safely, the number of people who have travelled to the moon and returned to Earth will rise to 28.
Reid Wiseman, the Artemis II commander, confirmed to mission control that all four crew members were “suited and seated” and ready for re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere.
Nasa says the spacecraft will have travelled 694,481 miles, or 1,117,659 kilometres, by the time it splashes down. The mission followed a moon flyby and is now nearing its final stage, with the Orion capsule due to glide into the Pacific after the long journey home.
The return closes out a mission that has drawn attention for both its duration and its place in Nasa’s broader lunar programme. For the astronauts aboard, the final descent will bring an end to a trip that began 10 days earlier and carried them far beyond Earth before bringing them back again.
As the capsule prepares for splashdown, the operation is focused on a controlled re-entry and recovery. The parachutes are designed to slow the spacecraft for its descent to the ocean, where recovery teams will move in after touchdown.
With the crew now awaiting landing, Artemis II is set to conclude as one of the latest chapters in the renewed effort to send astronauts around the moon and back safely to Earth.
