The Artemis II mission

To conclude a very successful mission, the Orion spacecraft carrying the Artemis II crew will splash down into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 p.m. ET today. Here is the timeline of events (all times in ET):

• 7:33 p.m.: Orion’s crew module will separate from the service module, exposing its heat shield for the spacecraft’s return through Earth’s atmosphere, where it will encounter temperatures of about 1,650 degrees Celsius (3,000 degrees Fahrenheit).
• 7:37 p.m.: Following separation, Orion will perform an 18-second crew module raise burn beginning to set the proper entry angle and align the heat shield for atmospheric interface.
• 7:53 p.m.: The spacecraft makes first contact with the upper atmosphere, about 122,000 meters (400,000 feet) above Earth’s surface. It will be traveling nearly 35 times the speed of sound, and the crew is expected to experience up to 3.9 Gs. This marks the start of a planned 6-minute communications blackout as plasma builds around the capsule.
• 8:03 p.m.: At around 67,000 meters (22,000 feet) in altitude, the drogue parachutes will deploy, slowing and stabilizing the capsule as Orion nears splashdown.
• 8:04 p.m.: At around 1,800 meters (6,000 feet), the drogues will release, and the three main parachutes will deploy, reducing Orion’s speed to less than 219 kilometers per hour (136 miles per hour).
• 8:07 p.m.: Slowing to 32 kilometers per hour (20 miles per hour), Orion will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, completing the Artemis II crew’s return to Earth and a 1,117,659-kilometer (694,481-mile) journey.
• Within two hours after splashdown, recovery teams will retrieve the crew from Orion, assist them onto an inflatable raft, and then use helicopters to deliver them to a nearby ship. Once aboard, the astronauts will undergo post‑mission medical evaluations before returning to shore, where awaiting aircraft will take them to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Browse the images taken by the Artemis II crew during lunar flyby and the total solar eclipse here.

The Artemis II crew has completed the mission’s lunar observation period and is now beginning the return trip back to Earth. Here's what will happen in the coming days:

• April 7-9: Orion performs three trajectory corrections to fine-tune its return to Earth. On day 7, the crew rests off-duty, and on day 8, the crew demonstrates the construction of a radiation shelter construction demo and performs manual piloting tests.
• April 10: The crew dons spacesuits and compression garments to prepare for reentry. About 122,000 meters (400,000 feet) above Earth, Orion's service module separates from the crew module, and Orion reenters Earth's atmosphere at 40,000 kilometers per hour (25,000 miles per hour). Two drogue parachutes slow Orion to roughly 480 kilometers per hour (300 miles per hour). Then, three pilot parachutes, followed by three main parachutes, slow the capsule to 27 kilometers per hour (17 miles per hour). Artemis II splashes down off the coast of San Diego, California.

The crew is observing the darkness of the Moon, the stars beyond, and some visible planets — truly awesome sights.

Victor Glover said, "There are stars… An unreal view… The moon in the foreground is one of the darkest things we see out the window. And now, deep space behind it is kind of dark blue, like it looks from Earth, but we can also still see stars. It’s quite a wicked view."

Commander Reid Wiseman added, "It’s just indescribable. No matter how long we look at this, our brains are not processing this image in front of us. It is absolutely spectacular, surreal. There’s no… there’s no adjectives. I’m going to need to invent some new ones to describe what we are looking at out this window."

The Sun has disappeared behind the Moon from the perspective of the crew aboard Orion. 

Although this is a total solar eclipse, it will not look like the ones we see on Earth since the Moon will appear much larger. It will give the Artemis II astronauts a chance to study the Sun's corona (its outer atmosphere) as it passes behind the Moon. During the eclipse, they may also be able to observe lunar dust that is illuminated by the Sun, as well as flashes of light from meteoroids striking the Moon's surface.

The Sun will reappear at 9:32 p.m. ET., giving the crew nearly an hour of eclipse observation.

The Orion spacecraft has emerged from behind the Moon, resuming communication between the Artemis II crew and mission control. 

The Orion spacecraft has reached its maximum distance from Earth at 406,771 kilometers (252,756 miles), setting a new record for human spaceflight. 

Orion has reached its closest approach to the Moon at about 6,545 kilometers (4,067 miles) above the lunar surface. At this point, the spacecraft is traveling at about 97,949 kilometers per hour (60,863 miles per hour) relative to Earth, but only 5,052 kilometers per hour (3,139 miles per hour) relative to the Moon. 

Orion will soon pass around the Moon, at which time mission control will temporarily lose communication with the spacecraft. During this 40-minute period, the following milestones will occur (times in ET):

• 6:45 p.m.: During “Earthset,” Earth will glide behind the Moon from Orion’s perspective.
• 7:02 p.m.: Orion reaches its closest approach to the Moon at 4,070 miles above the surface.
• 7:07 p.m.: Crew reach their maximum distance from Earth during the mission (252,706 miles).
• 7:25 p.m.: “Earthrise” marks Earth coming back into view on the opposite edge of the Moon. 
• 7:25 p.m.: Mission control will re-acquire communication with the astronauts.   

The Orion spacecraft is now close enough to the Moon for the crew and science team to make impactful science observations. This observation period, which includes the lunar flyby, is expected to last about seven hours.

The Orion capsule has officially traveled farther from Earth than any previous crewed mission, surpassing the record of 400,171 kilometers (248,655 miles) set by Apollo 13 in 1970. The reason Artemis II broke this record before even reaching the Moon is because of the Moon's elliptical orbit around Earth. Right now, the Moon is farther from Earth than it was during Apollo missions.

The Orion spacecraft will carry the Artemis II crew around the farside of the Moon today. Here are the key milestones expected (all times in ET):

• 1:30 p.m.: The science officer in the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will brief the crew on their science goals for the upcoming flyby. 
• 1:56 p.m.: The Artemis II crew is expected to surpass the record previously set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970 for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth.
• 2:45 p.m.: Lunar observations begin. 
• 6:44 p.m.: Mission control expects to temporarily lose communication with the crew as the Orion spacecraft passes behind the Moon.
• 6:45 p.m.: During “Earthset,” Earth will glide behind the Moon from Orion’s perspective.
• 7:02 p.m.: Orion reaches its closest approach to the Moon at 4,070 miles above the surface.
• 7:07 p.m.: Crew reach their maximum distance from Earth during the mission (252,706 miles).
• 7:25 p.m.: “Earthrise” marks Earth coming back into view on the opposite edge of the Moon. 
• 7:25 p.m.: Mission control will re-acquire communication with the astronauts.
• 8:35-9:32 p.m.: During a solar eclipse, the Sun will pass behind the Moon from the crew’s perspective.
• 9:20 p.m.: Lunar observations conclude. 

The spacecraft has completed the translunar injection burn, accelerating Orion to escape velocity and sending the crew toward the Moon on their free-return trajectory.

Read our guide to the safety measures in place to protect the crew over their 10-day journey.

The spacecraft's main engine completed a 43-second burn to raise the lowest point (or perigee) of its orbit and refine its trajectory, placing it in a stable high-Earth orbit that aligns with its path to the Moon.

Artemis II has successfully launched! The Space Launch System rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 6:35 p.m. ET, launching astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen aboard the Orion capsule on a trajectory that will take them around the Moon and back to Earth.

The countdown has begun toward a liftoff at 6:35:12 p.m. ET

The Artemis II launch has passed all checks and is ready to proceed with the launch countdown.

NASA has reported that the LAS battery issue is believed to be an instrumentation issue and will not affect today’s launch.

The weather has also continued to improve and has now been upgraded to 90% go for launch.

The final poll of the launch team, checking whether each component is GO for launch, will take place in around 15-20 minutes, at T-16m. The launch team is on track to launch toward the beginning of the launch window. 

The white room, from which the Artemis II crew entered the Orion capsule, has now been detached from the capsule. 

The launch team is reporting an issue with a battery on the launch abort system. The temperature for one of the two LAS batteries is out of its normal range. This may be a sensor issue or a problem with the battery itself. This needs to be addressed before launch. The team is working on troubleshooting the issue. 

The closeout team has verified hatch alignment, engaged locking mechanisms, and confirmed pressure integrity. This step ensures that the Orion spacecraft is fully sealed and ready for flight. The launch abort system hatch is designed to safeguard astronauts during the flight path and, if necessary, enable a rapid escape in the event of an emergency. 

Though there is still a bit of poor weather near the launchpad, NASA forecasts those clouds will move farther away. Clearer skies appear to be coming in from the west. 

The range has verified its flight termination system and is reporting that the issue is fixed, and the launch has clearance from that team. 

The launch team has been made aware of an issue relating to the flight termination system. This system sends a signal to the rocket if it starts to veer off path. The issue is at the flight range facility, not on the rocket. The range team is working to address this issue with assistance from the launch team. This is not currently causing a countdown pause. 

NASA has announced that there are currently no major constraints to today's planned launch. This includes weather conditions, the rocket and capsule, the crew, and all other key factors. 

The Artemis II crew will depend on Orion's service module for power, consumables (water, air, etc), and thrust. But unlike the Apollo era, which was a U.S.-only program, the service module is provided by the European Space Agency (ESA). It's a design that leverages hardware developed for their cargo transport module used for the International Space Station.

The European Service Module deal was signed in January of 2013, not long after Congress mandated the construction of the SLS and continuation of Orion. NASA was facing severe budgetary strain, including a 10% across-the-board cut imposed to nearly all federal agencies.

The deal provided NASA with a service module for Orion, saving the agency billions of dollars. In turn, NASA counted Orion service modules as ESA fulfilling its financial obligation to the space station. 

There are no alternatives to the ESM. Every mission to the Moon in Orion will, by default, be an international partnership.

The astronauts are aboard the spacecraft and carrying out checks.

For the first time in 20 years, astronauts are walking onto launch complex 39B to board a rocket to space.

Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen have begun their trip to Launchpad Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Follow NASA's feed for more up-to-the-minute details about launch preparations.