The Artemis II mission is nearing its conclusion, with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen completing an unprecedented journey around the moon aboard their Orion spacecraft, named Integrity. Their voyage, which has taken them farther than any humans have ventured before, will culminate in a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, Calif., scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET tonight.
As the spacecraft hurtles back to Earth, reaching speeds approaching 40,000 km/h and the capsule heating up to 3,000 C, the returning astronauts will experience intense gravitational forces, feeling four times heavier than usual. The re-entry process is described as akin to riding a fireball through the atmosphere, a sentiment echoed by astronaut Victor Glover during a recent press briefing.
Before touching down on solid ground, several critical procedures must be executed. The European Space Agency’s European Service Module, responsible for powering Orion, will detach approximately 20 minutes before re-entry, followed by potential trajectory adjustments through a crew module raise burn and roll manoeuvres to distance the spacecraft from the service module. With their visors down, the astronauts will be about 16,000 kilometers from their landing site, entering a phase described as the real challenge by Artemis II flight director Rick Henfling.
During re-entry, a plasma buildup around the spacecraft will disrupt communication with ground control for about six minutes, known as LOS or loss of signal. Subsequently, at an altitude of 150,000 feet, drogue parachutes will deploy to decelerate the capsule, ensuring a safe descent. Despite concerns over the heat shield’s integrity, no changes were made for Artemis II, but modifications were implemented following the Artemis I mission to enhance re-entry procedures.
At an altitude of 1,800 meters, the main parachutes will engage, slowing the spacecraft to a gentle 32 km/h for a splashdown off San Diego, completing the entire process in just 14 minutes. Upon landing, the astronauts will be retrieved by the USS John P. Murtha, with a well-coordinated operation to transfer them from the capsule to a recovery raft.
Following medical evaluations, the astronauts will be transported back to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they will continue to study the scientific data collected during their remarkable journey.
