Artemis II Recovery Preparations

Airmen of the 45th Weather Squadron prepare a weather balloon for launch as NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams continue to prepare for the the return of the Artemis II crewmembers to Earth, Wednesday, April 8, 2026, onboard USS John P. Murtha in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA’s Artemis II mission is taking NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back aboard their Orion spacecraft. Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen are scheduled to splash down off the coast of San Diego at approximately 5:07 p.m. PDT (8:07 p.m. EDT) on Friday, April 10. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)