NASA‘s Artemis II crew is just minutes away from the most dangerous phase of their historic Moon mission as the Orion spacecraft prepares to plunge back to Earth.
The spacecraft is scheduled to streak through Earth’s atmosphere at about 7.53pm ET on Friday, reaching blistering speeds of up to 25,000 miles per hour before splashing down roughly 13 minutes later in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California.
The four-person crew, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, is wrapping up a ten-day mission that carried them around the moon and farther than any human had ever traveled into space before.
The journey marked the first time in more than 50 years that humans have traveled this far into space and viewed the lunar surface with the naked eye since the Apollo era.
During the mission, the astronauts also passed behind the moon, flying over the mysterious far side, often referred to as the moon’s dark side because it permanently faces away from Earth. The historic flight also shattered a decades-old distance record set during Apollo 13 in 1970, when astronauts traveled 248,655 miles from Earth.
Artemis II surpassed that milestone by thousands of miles, setting a new distance record for human spaceflight.
What to watch for as Artemis II returns to Earth
NASA has released its official timeline of what will happen during Artemis II’s historic return to Earth:
7.33pm ET: Orion’s crew module will separate from the service module, exposing its heat shield for the spacecraft’s return through Earth’s atmosphere, where temperatures will reach up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
7.37pm ET: Orion will perform an 18-second crew module raise burn beginning to set the proper entry angle and align the heat shield for its collision with the atmosphere.
7.53pm ET: When Orion reaches 400,000 feet above Earth’s surface, the crew is expected to experience up to 3.9 Gs in the planned entry route. This moment marks the spacecraft’s first contact with the upper atmosphere and the starts a six-minute communications blackout.
8.03pm ET: Around 22,000 feet over the surface, parachutes will deploy, slowing and stabilizing the capsule as Orion nears splashdown.
8.04pm ET: At around 6,000 feet, the initial parachutes will release, and the three main parachutes will deploy, reducing Orion’s speed to less than 136 mph.
8.07pm ET: Slowing to 20 mph, Orion will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, completing the Artemis II crew’s return to Earth and a 694,481-mile journey.
Navy launches its recovery teams as Artemis II nears Earth
Captain Erik Kenny, the commanding officer of the US Navy’s USS John P Murtha revealed that the ship has launched the four helicopters which will be monitoring the splashdown site as Artemis II nears Earth’s atmosphere.
The Murtha set out from the California coast earlier in the week for its mission to recovery the Orion spacecraft is less than one hour.
NASA surgeon warns astronauts could get sick while returning to Earth
NASA flight surgeon Dr Rick Scheuring revealed that crews at the splashdown site are preparing to help the four astronauts, who may battle severe nausea after reentering Earth’s much stronger atmosphere.
Scheuring said: ‘The human system is very dynamic. It has to readapt very quickly. One of the most common responses they get is some stomach awareness, to some nausea, to some vomiting.’
To help NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, the crew has taken anti-nausea medication and increasing their fluid intake in preparation for splashdown.
Artemis II crew don their space suits as final preparations for reentry begin
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen have changed into their protective space suits as the crew begin their final leak checks before entering the Earth’s atmosphere at approximately 7.33pm ET
All systems look ‘great’ for Artemis splashdown
NASA’s Artemis mission recovery director, Paul Sierpinski, said that the conditions near the splashdown site look great and everything remains on schedule for the Orion spacecraft to return in just over an hour.
Artemis II prepares for reentry after final burn
The Orion spacecraft carrying four astronauts back to Earth successfully completed their final burn Friday afternoon at 2.53pm ET.
The capsule ignited its thrusters for eight seconds, changing their velocity by 4.2 feet-per-second and pushing Artemis II into a course that will take it safely into the Pacific Ocean at approximately 8.07pm ET.