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.

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NASA’s colossal Space Launch System rocket lifted off at 3:35 p.m. Pacific time from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the start of the 10-day Artemis II mission.

In the hours and minutes leading up to launch, as the astronauts waited aboard, NASA engineers troubleshooted minor issues with the 30-story-tall rocket. First, the teams identified an issue with the hardware that communicates with a system designed to detonate the rocket to protect public safety if the rocket veers off course. Next, there was a fluke temperature reading on the Launch Abort System, designed to pull the crew to safety during such an event. Finally, they managed a brief telemetry issue with the capsule.

All were ultimately resolved, and the agency proceeded.

“On this historic mission, you take with you the heart of this Artemis team, the daring spirit of the American people and our partners across the globe, and the hopes and dreams of a new generation,” Artemis II launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said to the crew minutes before launch. “Good luck. Godspeed, Artemis II. Let’s go.”

In a few days’ time, the four astronauts aboard will perform a flyby of the moon — they will not land on the surface nor will they enter the moon’s orbit. Instead, the flyby is designed as an essential stepping-stone mission to test the rocket, human life support systems and flight procedures ahead of a lunar landing, which NASA hopes to pull off in 2028.

This includes studies on the astronauts’ sleep and mental health, as well as how deep-space radiation and microgravity affect organs and immune system. The crew will also practice manually piloting the spacecraft while still close to Earth.

NASA expects the crew to reach the moon Monday morning, around 10 a.m. Pacific time. As the astronauts pass the far side of the moon, NASA expects to temporarily lose communication with the crew, who will focus on documenting and analyzing the rugged lunar surface. Around this point, NASA anticipates the crew will break the Apollo 13 crew’s record for the farthest distance any human has traveled from Earth.

The crew will then begin their four-day return. The crew capsule is set to slam into the Earth’s atmosphere at roughly 30 times the speed of sound — potentially making it the fastest reentry of a crewed capsule in history — on April 10. NASA anticipates the crew will splash down off the coast of San Diego around 5 p.m. Pacific time.

The mission, made possible by scientists, engineers and support crews across the country and world, has a touch of Southern California, too.

Victor Glover, the astronaut piloting the mission, was once a kid in the Pomona Valley, watching the space shuttle launch on TV and dreaming of driving the thing. He cut his teeth as a test pilot out in the Mojave, attending test pilot school at Edwards Air Force Base and serving on a Navy test pilot squadron in China Lake, Calif.

If the mission is successful, Glover will become the first Black person to travel to the moon. With him will be the first woman to do so, NASA astronaut Christina Koch, and the first non-American to do so, Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency. Not to be outdone by his crewmates, mission commander Reid Wiseman, at 50, will be the oldest to do so.

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center inside Edwards Air Force Base is also conducting critical research and testing for the mission. They supported two tests of the rocket’s Launch Abort System — designed to accelerate from 0 to 500 mph in just two seconds to literally outrun the debris of an exploding rocket — in the 2010s. (The rocket discarded the abort system after the crew safely escaped the majority of Earth’s atmosphere.)

During reentry, the center will participate in a high-speed relay of military and civilian planes to chase the capsule and measure how the heat shield performs with high-tech telescopes and sensors. Artemis II is testing out a new reentry trajectory after an uncrewed test mission in 2022 resulted in unexpected damage to the heat shield.

Finally, once the capsule safely splashes down off San Diego, NASA and U.S. Navy divers will secure the capsule, with medical staff from both on standby. A Navy ship will then bring the capsule back to Naval Base San Diego, right next to the city’s downtown.

The Artemis program ultimately aims to land humans back on the moon, help the space agency establish a lunar base and serve as the testing grounds for future missions to Mars.

NASA plans to launch Artemis III, a mission in Earth’s orbit to test docking the NASA spacecraft with SpaceX’s and Blue Origin’s lunar landers, in 2027. It aspires to launch Artemis IV, which would put humans on the surface of the moon, in 2028.

“Artemis II is the opening act,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman shortly before launch. “We’re going into the golden age of science and discovery right now.”

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    Victor Glover, a Pomona-born astronaut and former Ontario High School athlete, is set to become the first Black person to travel to the moon. The mission will not include a landing, but the crew will fly past the moon — the first time humans have done so in more than 50 years.

    Glover, 49, is no stranger to making history. In 2020, he became the first Black astronaut to serve on a long-duration expedition aboard the International Space Station.

    For some, that milestone came as a shock. Livingston Holder, a former Air Force manned spaceflight engineer and space shuttle payload specialist, said he could hardly believe it when he first learned no Black astronaut had previously spent extended time living aboard the station.

    “That cannot be right,” Holder recalled thinking. “How could it take that long?”

    While Black astronauts had participated in earlier shuttle missions and contributed to building the station, none had stayed for months as part of a full expedition crew until Glover’s mission.

    Even so, Glover has often downplayed the significance of being “the first,” choosing instead to focus on the broader purpose of space exploration — and the people who came before him.

    Holder, whose own opportunity to fly was canceled after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, said Glover has always carried himself as a team-oriented astronaut rather than someone seeking individual recognition.

    Glover’s path to that moment wasn’t guaranteed. In 2018, astronaut Jeanette Epps had been slated to become the first Black astronaut assigned to a long-term ISS mission, but she was removed from the flight without public explanation.

    His time in space also coincided with difficult moments back on Earth. Just months before his ISS mission launched, the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked nationwide protests and conversations about racial injustice — a reality Glover, like many others, had to process while orbiting the planet.

    The tension between progress in space and struggles on Earth is not new. The Apollo era itself unfolded during the height of the civil rights movement, when critics questioned whether the nation’s resources were being spent in the right places.

    To stay grounded, Glover has spoken about listening to Whitey on the Moon by Gil Scott-Heron during training — a piece that reflects those same questions about inequality and progress.

    For Glover, though, the mission is about opportunity — not just for himself, but for others who may follow.

    “Every time someone is first, it opens the door for the next person,” Holder said, noting the impact role models can have on future generations.

    Glover’s own story begins in Pomona, where he was born in 1976 and raised by parents who encouraged his curiosity. His father worked as a police officer, his mother as a bookkeeper, and both supported his wide-ranging ambitions — from athletics to engineering.

    As a teenager at Ontario High School, Glover competed in multiple sports, including wrestling, football and track. Teachers remembered him as bright, focused and independent.

    “He was always going to find his own path,” said Gregg Givens, a former teacher and coach at the school.

    After earning a degree in engineering, Glover joined the Navy in 1998. Over the next 15 years, he logged more than 3,500 flight hours across dozens of aircraft and flew 24 combat missions, while also earning advanced degrees.

    He later trained as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base, following a path similar to early astronauts like Neil Armstrong.

    Glover was selected as part of NASA’s astronaut class in 2013, chosen from more than 6,000 applicants. Since then, he has built a reputation as both a skilled pilot and a dedicated family man — often checking in from space to help his four daughters with homework.

    On Artemis II, he will be joined by a diverse crew that includes Christina Koch, who is set to become the first woman to travel to the moon, and Jeremy Hansen, who will be the first non-American to make the journey.

    For Holder and others who paved the way, watching Glover’s mission is deeply personal.

    Before launch, Holder visited a communications station in Australia that will help relay signals between the spacecraft and Earth. From there, he sent a message to Glover that reflects what the mission represents to many.

    “Through you,” he said, “we all go to the moon.”

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