From USA TODAY.

As millions of people held their breath, the four Artemis II astronauts flawlessly splashed down back to Earth in the Orion capsule, ending their history-making 10-day mission to the moon and back.

"What a journey," Commander Reid Wiseman said as he bobbed in the Pacific Ocean inside the Orion capsule just minutes after the safe return. He added that he and his crewmates were safe and doing well.

The splashdown, which happened in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 p.m. EDT / 5:07 p.m. PT, followed a harrowing and dangerous reentry, where NASA astronauts Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen, traveled at speeds up to 25,000 mph ‒ possibly faster than humans have ever traveled.

Follow live Artemis II updates: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/04/10/artemis-ii-splashdown-updates–live/89523233007/

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