'Welcome home, Artemis': Crew celebrates historic 10-day moon mission

PHOTO: (L-R) NASA's Artemis II mission astronauts Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist Christina Koch, pilot Victor Glover and commander Reid Wiseman attend a welcoming ceremony in Houston, Texas, on April 11, 2026.

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Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images

Artemis II crew arrives back to Houston after the dramatic Pacific splashdown

NASA's Artemis II mission lifted off on April 1 at 6:35 p.m. ET from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The four-person crew completed a 695,081-mile, 10-day journey around the moon, also known as a lunar fly-by.

A "textbook" splashdown took place at 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday, April 10.

Apr 02, 2026 5:29 PM

Team to decide whether crucial trans-lunar injection burn is a 'go'

The Artemis II mission management team will meet shortly to make a pivotal "go" or "no-go" decision for the trans-lunar injection (TLI) burn.

If it's a "go" for the TLI, the burn will occur Thursday at 7:49:50 p.m. ET. This burn commits the Orion spacecraft to the remainder of its 10-day mission.

NASA

NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen are seen in the Orion spacecraft, April 2, 2026.

NASA

The TLI burn is the final major engine firing of the Artemis II mission. It will propel Orion on its path toward the moon, setting it on a free-return trajectory that will carry it around the far side of the moon and back to Earth using gravity as an assist. It will also ensure that the spacecraft returns to Earth, even if a system failure occurs.

The main engine on Orion's service module, known as the Orbital Maneuvering System engine, will provide 6,000 pounds of thrust during the nearly six-minute burn. That's enough power to accelerate a car from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 2.7 seconds.

-ABC News' Matthew Glasser

Apr 02, 2026 2:19 PM

8-year-old watches his plush toy rocket to the moon with Artemis II

A second-grader's plush toy design has rocketed to space alongside astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover Jr., Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen on board the Artemis II moon mission.

Lucas Ye, 8, designed a white moon plush named "Rise," which wears an Earth cap with a brim highlighting the galaxy and rockets.

PHOTO: Lucas Ye, an 8-year-old from California, designed a moon mascot plush toy called "Rise" that will travel to space on the Artemis II mission to the moon.

Courtesy Freelancer

Lucas Ye, an 8-year-old from California, designed a moon mascot plush toy called "Rise" that will travel to space on the Artemis II mission to the moon.

Courtesy Freelancer

Lucas and his family were invited to witness the Wednesday evening launch of Artemis II at the Kennedy Space Center, an experience that Lucas described to "Good Morning America" on Thursday as "really cool."

"I feel very lucky. A little idea can turn out into a big thing," Lucas told "GMA."

Artemis II crew enters high Earth orbit

The Artemis II crew has entered high Earth orbit about two hours after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center.

The crew will spend about a day in orbit testing Orion's systems. If everything is operating properly, Orion will be instructed on Thursday to perform the translunar injection burn, which will send the crew and spacecraft along their path to the moon.

NASA

NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen are seen in the Orion spacecraft, April 2, 2026.

NASA

NASA said high Earth orbit extends "about 46,000 miles beyond Earth."

-ABC News' Briana Alvarado

Apr 02, 2026 12:54 PM

NASA administrator says astronauts in 'great spirits'

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Artemis II marked America's "grand return to the moon" during a Wednesday evening news conference.

Isaacman said NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover Jr. and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, "are safe. They're secure, and they're in great spirits."

"We will continue to monitor their health and status as we move into the next phase of the Artemis II mission," he continued. "You have our commitment to keep the public as informed as possible on this historic mission.

NASA

Earth is seen from the Orion spacecraft, April 2, 2026.

NASA

"We will hold our celebration until this crew is under parachutes and splashes down off the West Coast," Isaacman said.

Isaacman said about 51 minutes into the flight, during a planned handover between satellites, there was a temporary loss of communications with the ground team not able to receive data from the crew or spacecraft. However, he said communications have since been restored.

Apr 01, 2026 10:00 AM

Who are the Artemis astronauts?

#Who are the Artemis astronauts?

Three Americans and one Canadian will be aboard the Orion spacecraft -- named "Integrity" -- over the course of 10 days.

The team consists of Victor Glover, Christina Hammock Koch and Reid Wiseman of NASA and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

PHOTO: NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen stop for a group photograph as they visit NASA's Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, March 30, 2026 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Bill Ingalls/NASA

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen stop for a group photograph as they visit NASA's Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, March 30, 2026 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Bill Ingalls/NASA

Wiseman is the commander of the Artemis II mission, Glover is the mission pilot, and Koch and Hansen are mission specialists.

Glover and Koch will also be the first person of color and first woman, respectively, to eventually step foot on the lunar surface in future Artemis missions.

-ABC News' Julia Jacobo