When did the Artemis II crew splash down in the Pacific Ocean?
HOUSTON -- The most dangerous part of the Artemis II astronauts' mission happened when the Orion spacecraft returned to Earth and splashed down into the Pacific Ocean on Friday.
NASA worked around the clock to bring the four astronauts back home.
When and where did Artemis II crew splash down?
Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at the expected time of 8:07 p.m. ET, marking an end to the crew's historic 10-day, 695,081-mile journey around the moon and back.
During reentry, the service module separated before before Orion reached the upper atmosphere of the Earth. A few minutes later, a burn meant to fine-tune the flight path to its designated landing zone was executed as Orion began a series of roll maneuvers.
Ahead of the splashdown, NASA said Orion and its crew would reach its maximum velocity just before entry interface: approximately 23,864 miles per hour.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the reentry may cause a sonic boom, which could be heard and felt by those living in Southern California.
The crew is expected to be extracted from Orion and flown to the USS John P. Murtha within two hours of landing, where they will undergo post-mission medical evaluations.
How will the Artemis II crew reenter Earth?
While America's 250th anniversary is three months away, NASA is planning to start the fireworks early with pyrotechnics that will help slow the Orion spacecraft before splashdown.
"Basically, we pack a chute into a bag, stuff it into a cannon, plug some pyrotechnics into the back of it and blast them out into the airstream," Jared Daum, Artemis II parachute system manager, said.
Eyewitness News got a close look at the technology on board the Orion spacecraft that will help get the astronauts back home to Earth.
Daum said there are four series of parachutes that go off with a bang. They're essential to slowing the spacecraft, which is expected to go from 400,000 feet to the Pacific Ocean in just 13 minutes at speeds up to 35,000 feet per second.
What happens when the astronauts are back home?
The team at Mission Control in Houston is making sure everything goes according to plan when the Artemis II crew returns to our planet.
Teams at the Johnson Space Center were tasked with developing tools to test astronauts' balance shortly after they return to Earth.
Jason Norcross, an extravehicular activities and environmental physiology laboratory senior scientist, said that while the mission lasted only a week and a half, it could take days for the astronauts to overcome some disorientation.
"You'll often see the astronauts as they move, they'll tend to keep their head and body kind of robotically together. That's a way to prevent motion sickness," Norscross said.
What's next for NASA?
When the Artemis II crew is back on solid ground again, they will board an aircraft bound for Houston's Johnson Space Center to put the finishing touches on the Artemis II mission.
After the splashdown years in the making, NASA officials hope that Artemis II is the mission that gets humans one step closer to landing on the moon again.
"It's a big deal. I'm super excited," Daum expressed.
