On their final day in space, the Artemis II astronauts will begin their return to Earth, carrying out last‑minute checks for re‑entry and splashdown procedures.
NASA says the third return‑trajectory correction burn is planned for Friday afternoon, April 10, at about 1:53 p.m. EDT, setting up the capsule for its descent.
Orion will use a ‘slingshot’ re‑entry technique that relies on atmospheric physics rather than heavy propulsion, and about 20 minutes before hitting the atmosphere, its service module will separate and burn up, never returning with the crew.
The spacecraft will then enter a crucial 13‑minute re‑entry window, falling more than 400,000 feet and covering nearly 2,000 miles across the Pacific toward the splashdown zone off California.
During this period, the crew will lose contact with Houston as Orion endures temperatures reaching 2,760°C.
Once the capsule punches through the atmosphere—an experience astronaut Victor Glover likens to “riding a fireball”—its Avcoat heat shield will allow the parachutes to deploy and slow the vehicle for splashdown near San Diego.
After landing, five orange airbags will inflate to right the capsule, and within about two hours the crew will be retrieved by a U.S. Navy recovery vessel.
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