Artemis II 'Bullseye Splashdown' — Crew Returns Safely After Historic Lunar Mission

NASA's Artemis II Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego at 5:07 p.m. PDT (8:07 p.m. EDT) on April 10, 2026 — a 'perfect bullseye splashdown' per Mission Control in Houston. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch (NASA), and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (CSA) all emerged safely following a nearly 10-day lunar mission. The mission broke Apollo 13's distance record, reaching 252,756 miles (406,771 km) from Earth — the farthest humans have ever traveled from our planet. Recovery crews from the USS John P. Murtha extracted all four crew members approximately one hour after splashdown via Navy helicopters. NASA called it a landmark stepping stone toward Artemis III's planned crewed Moon landing.