How to watch NASA’s Artemis II splashdown live as it returns to Earth

NASA’s Artemis II mission is approaching its final phase, as the four-member crew prepares to return to Earth following a landmark journey to the far side of the moon.

Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen have spent 10 days aboard the Orion spacecraft. Their return sequence is scheduled to begin with atmospheric re-entry at 7:33 p.m. ET, followed by a planned splashdown at 8:07 p.m.

NASA is providing a live broadcast of the event as the Orion capsule descends into the Pacific Ocean. The spacecraft is expected to land off the coast of San Diego, where recovery teams will be waiting.

The Artemis II mission represents the first time humans have travelled to lunar orbit in over five decades. During the flight, the crew ventured farther from Earth than any humans in history, reaching a distance of approximately 252,760 miles. To put that into perspective, it is roughly equivalent to travelling between New York City and Los Angeles around 100 times — all while confined within a spacecraft offering about 330 cubic feet of habitable space, comparable to the interior of two minivans.

A key goal of Artemis II is to gather critical data that will support future lunar missions. Throughout the journey, the astronauts conducted a series of planned tests to evaluate how the Orion spacecraft performs with a crew in deep space. These included testing communication systems with mission control, executing trajectory corrections, and preparing for a safe return through Earth’s atmosphere.

The splashdown phase is considered one of the most critical and potentially hazardous parts of the mission. During the uncrewed Artemis I flight in 2022, Orion’s heat shield experienced unexpected damage during re-entry. The protective layer, made of AVCOAT material, is designed to gradually burn away, shielding the spacecraft from temperatures approaching 5,000 degrees. However, engineers observed unanticipated charring and cracking.

NASA later confirmed that, despite the damage, a crew would have returned safely during Artemis I. Since then, the agency has conducted extensive investigations to understand the issue better. Even so, the performance of the heat shield remains a major point of attention as Artemis II completes its return.

The mission launched on April 1, and while the crew initially dealt with some routine technical inconveniences — including issues with Microsoft Office software and onboard sanitation systems — those were quickly overshadowed by the mission’s scientific and visual achievements.

During the journey, the astronauts transmitted remarkable images and data from the moon’s far side, offering a perspective rarely seen. They also contributed to lunar mapping efforts by naming newly observed craters, including one dedicated to Commander Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll, who passed away in 2020.

One of the most extraordinary moments of the mission came when the crew observed a total solar eclipse from a vantage point just a few thousand miles from the moon — a perspective never before experienced by astronauts.

“It wasn’t just an eclipse with the Sun hidden behind the Moon,” Koch explained. “We could also see earthshine, the Sun’s light reflecting off Earth, wrapping the Moon in a soft, borrowed glow.”

As the mission concludes, all eyes are now on the safe return of the Artemis II crew, with NASA’s live coverage allowing viewers around the world to witness this historic splashdown in real time.