Artemis II splashdown: Timeline, live tracker, mission updates

After its historic 10-day flight to the moon, Artemis II is expected to splashdown off the coast of California on Friday night, April 10 – one of the most critical parts of the space flight.

Here is everything you need to know about Artemis II's splashdown, including how to watch live, the timeline, and what happens after the Orion spacecraft lands in the Pacific Ocean.

Splashdown: When does Artemis II return to Earth?

Artemis II is expected to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Southern California, around 8:07 p.m. Eastern Time.

Watch live: Artemis II splashdown

FOX 35 Orlando and FOX 35 News+ will stream the Artemis II splashdown live in the video player above, on YouTube, on FOX 35's Facebook page, and TikTok.

FOX 35 News+ with Garrett Wymer will have live coverage all day. NASA will begin its coverage at 6:30 p.m. 

Artemis II splashdown: Minute-by-minute timeline

Here is NASA's minute-by-minute timeline of the Artemis II splashdown

• 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 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.: When Orion reaches 400,000 feet above Earth’s surface while traveling nearly 35 times the speed of sound. The crew is expected to experience up to 3.9 Gs in the planned entry profile. This moment marks the spacecraft’s first contact with the upper atmosphere and the start of a planned six-minute communications blackout as plasma builds around the capsule.
• 8:03 p.m.: Around 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 6,000 feet, the drogues will release, and the three main parachutes will deploy, reducing Orion’s speed to less than 136 mph.
• 8:07 p.m.: Slowing to 20 mph, 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 694,481-mile journey.
• From there, teams from NASA and the U.S. military will extract the crew from Orion and fly them via helicopter to the USS John P. Murtha.
• Within two hours after splashdown, the crew will be extracted from Orion and flown to the USS Murtha. Recovery teams will retrieve the crew, assist them onto an inflatable raft, and then use helicopters to deliver them to the 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.

What happens after splashdown?

After Artemis II splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, NASA and the U.S. military will recover the astronauts from the Orion spacecraft. They will then be flown to the USS John P. Murtha to undergo a medical evaluation.

From there, the Artemis II crew will be flown to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Watch NASA explain Artemis II splashdown, from entry to landing