The successful splashdown of the Orion capsule occurred at 8:07 PM Eastern time on April 10, marking the end of the Artemis II mission, which lasted nearly 10 days and involved a journey around the moon. The crew, consisting of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency, achieved a historic milestone as they became the first humans to capture images of the lunar far side using smartphones.
Separation from the service module took place at 7:33 PM, followed by a brief communication blackout lasting six minutes as the capsule entered the upper atmosphere. The Orion capsule utilized a parachute system, first deploying drogue parachutes at 23,400 feet, which contributed to a safe descent and a final velocity of 200 feet per second before impact.
After splashdown, NASA engineers conducted tests on the capsule while recovery teams prepared to extract the crew. By 9:34 PM, all four astronauts were safely aboard helicopters en route to the USS John P. Murtha for health assessments. NASA plans to soon announce the crew for Artemis III, which will involve further lunar exploration and testing of commercial landers developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin.