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science

Orion splashdown ends Artemis II lunar mission with crew safe

Orion returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific off California after a ten day round trip to the Moon, with NASA confirming splashdown and module stability from Houston.

Apr 11th 2026 · United States

Insights

  • Orion crew module splashed down in the Pacific off California and is reported stable.
  • NASA Mission Control in Houston confirmed splashdown at 19:07 Central, 17:07 Pacific.
  • Four astronauts aboard the crew module named Integrity returned after a ten day lunar round trip.
  • Teams will deploy the module righting system to maintain orientation before recovery.
  • NASA announced the lunar operation complete and the crew are back on Earth.

Sources