Artemis II: Countdown to splashdown as crew races home at 40,000 km/h

TEXAS: The Artemis Orion spacecraft, carrying four astronauts who have just completed a historic flyby of the Moon, has begun its final approach to Earth. The capsule is set to pierce the atmosphere today, travelling at a staggering speed of approximately 40,000 kilometres per hour.

Splashdown is scheduled for roughly 7:00 PM US time (5:37 AM IST tomorrow). Upon entering the atmosphere, Orion will utilise a series of parachutes to bleed off its immense speed and ensure a controlled, gentle touchdown on the Pacific Ocean.

As the spacecraft descends, a fleet of Navy helicopters and drones will track its exact trajectory from the sky. Once Orion is bobbing in the water, specialist divers will be the first on the scene, inspecting the capsule to ensure there are no toxic gas leaks or hazardous fumes before the crew exits.

The crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—will be carefully extracted from the capsule and airlifted by helicopter to a nearby recovery ship. Onboard, they will move directly into a state-of-the-art medical lab, where doctors will begin monitoring how their bodies have adapted after several days in weightlessness and deep space.

Once the astronauts are safe, the Orion capsule itself will be hoisted onto the ship’s deck using heavy-duty cranes. The mission will officially conclude when the crew is flown home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas for a formal reception and a period of extended observation.