NASA's four Artemis II astronauts returned to Earth aboard the Orion capsule after a 10-day mission around the Moon, completing a high-speed atmospheric re-entry and a scheduled Pacific Ocean splashdown. The capsule landed at 8:07 p.m. Eastern time, roughly 40 to 50 miles off San Diego, according to CBS News' live coverage. Mission Control described the descent as a precise arrival.
The return included about six minutes during which communications were unavailable as Orion passed through the atmosphere. After splashdown, commander Reid Wiseman reported that all four crew members were doing well. A later brief communications problem between the capsule, named Integrity, and recovery personnel delayed part of the planned power-down sequence, but contact was restored.
Recovery teams then carried out a series of safety checks before extracting the astronauts. Personnel approached the capsule and sampled the surrounding air for hazardous substances, including hydrazine propellant and ammonia coolant. Navy divers installed stabilization equipment, including an inflatable collar and a sea anchor, while an inflatable platform known as a front porch was positioned beneath Orion's side hatch. Strong currents complicated efforts to steady the spacecraft.
Four Navy divers entered Orion so the crew could receive an initial medical assessment. A medical officer told Mission Control that the astronauts felt well and were ready to leave. They began emerging about 90 minutes after splashdown, moving one at a time onto the raft. Wiseman was the last astronaut out. Each crew member was subsequently fitted with a hoisting vest, lifted into a helicopter and flown to the nearby USS John P. Murtha. The successful extraction completed the most visible safety milestone of the return operation.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman met the astronauts on the ship's flight deck. The crew walked to the medical bay with little assistance. The capsule itself was due to be towed into a specially designed cradle aboard the recovery vessel, returned to Naval Base San Diego and later transported to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for inspection and data retrieval.
At a post-splashdown briefing, NASA officials emphasized both the successful result and the analysis still ahead. Orion program manager Howard Hu said teams would study the mission data before moving forward. Exploration Ground Systems program manager Shawn Quinn called the return an exceptional conclusion to the flight, while agency leaders acknowledged the anxiety experienced by the astronauts' families during re-entry.
The safe landing closes the crewed flight itself but opens its engineering review. NASA will now use the capsule and recorded mission data to assess Orion's performance and inform later exploration missions.
