Artemis II splashdown live updates as NASA mission returns to Earth
USA Today • • general
Key Points:
- NASA is targeting 2027 for the Artemis III mission, which will send astronauts to lunar orbit to dock with commercial lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin, and test new space suits developed by Axiom Space.
- Artemis II is currently about 35,000 miles from Earth and preparing for reentry, with a planned splashdown off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 p.m. EDT after a nearly 700,000-mile journey.
- The Orion spacecraft will reenter Earth's atmosphere at speeds up to 25,000 mph, facing temperatures around 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit and experiencing up to 3.9 Gs, followed by a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
- The USS John P. Murtha is positioned near the splashdown site to recover the Artemis II astronauts, with divers and medical staff ready to assist and transport the crew back to the ship and then to Houston.
- Weather conditions are favorable for the splashdown, with manageable seas, low winds, and a low likelihood of storms in the recovery zone off Southern California.
