Southern California is set to play a visible role in the final moments of one of NASA’s most ambitious missions in decades.
After completing a historic journey around the far side of the moon, the Artemis II crew is expected to return to Earth with a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on the evening of April 10. The landing will cap a 10-day mission that has taken astronauts farther into space than any crew in more than 50 years.
According to NASA, splashdown is currently projected for about 5:07 p.m. Pacific time, though officials note that timing and exact positioning could shift as the spacecraft completes its final approach. The Orion capsule will reenter Earth’s atmosphere at extreme speeds, enduring intense heat before deploying parachutes and descending into the ocean.
That reentry phase is widely considered one of the most critical parts of the mission. The spacecraft must maintain precise control under intense conditions to ensure it lands safely within a designated recovery zone.
Once Orion touches down, a coordinated recovery operation will begin. Teams made up of NASA personnel and U.S. military members — including specially trained Navy divers — will secure the capsule and assist the astronauts as they exit. The crew, made up of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will then be transported by helicopter to the nearby USS John P. Murtha.
Medical teams aboard the ship will conduct initial health checks after the crew’s time in space before the astronauts are returned to land and eventually flown to Johnson Space Center in Houston for further evaluation and debriefing.
The mission launched April 1 from Kennedy Space Center and marks the first crewed test flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System. During the flight, the crew traveled around the moon, passing along its far side — a region never visible from Earth — and reached a distance that places them farther from Earth than any humans before them. Communication was briefly lost while the spacecraft moved behind the moon, a planned and expected part of the mission.
Although the splashdown will occur offshore, Southern California’s role is no coincidence. The region’s deep ties to aerospace and strong naval infrastructure make it an ideal location for recovery operations. Local interest has been building ahead of the event, with organizations like the San Diego Air and Space Museum preparing public viewing opportunities.
Artemis II represents a major step in NASA’s long-term plans to return humans to the moon and eventually send crews to Mars. The mission is designed to test the systems that future astronauts will rely on, with the next milestone — a crewed lunar landing — currently targeted for later this decade.
For residents along the Southern California coast, the mission’s return offers a rare chance to witness a pivotal moment in space exploration unfolding just beyond the horizon.
