Artemis II splashdown: Watch live, stream live

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Four astronauts onboard the Orion in the Artemis II mission are beginning their gravity-assisted descent back into Earth's atmosphere. Their splashdown sequence of events will be the fastest any human has re-entered into Earth's atmosphere. 

The capsule will splash into the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of San Diego at around 8 p.m. 

Here's how to watch this historic moment.

Where to watch? 

FOX 35 will be live-streaming NASA's coverage on FOX 35 News +. This includes interviews with experts leading up to the splashdown and NASA coverage of the splashdown – which is set for 8:07 p.m. EDT – the crew's extraction and a post-splashdown news conference. 

NASA's coverage begins at 6:30 p.m., April 10. 

Catch it all on fox35news.com/live.

Where is the splashdown happening? 

The targeted time for the splashdown is 8:07 p.m. EDT (5:07 p.m. PDT) off the coast of San Diego. 

Splashdown timeline: What to expect? 

The Artemis II crew – who began their final phase of the 10-day mission on April 10 – listened to their journey home songs "Run to the Water" by Live and "Free" by Zac Brown Band as they prepared for the third return trajectory correction burn before a full reentry. The craft will be using gravity for reentry, not fuel. 

By morning, the astronauts were 61,326 miles from Earth.

Here's a timeline of events leading up to the splashdown: 

• At 2:53 p.m., a third bun is set to take place, refining Orion's path to re-enter the atmosphere.
• By 7:33 p.m., Orion's crew module will separate from the service module, which will expose the heat shield. The Artemis I mission – an unscrewed mission – faced difficulty with the heat shield during reentry from a mission around the moon, which resulted in the cracking and uneven shedding of the outer layer. NASA astronauts reported in 2024 that issues were identified after extensive testing. During the reentry on April 10, the capsule could reach temperatures up to 5,000 degrees.
• At 7:53 p.m., Orion will be 400,000 feet above Earth's surface and be traveling nearly 35 times the speed of sound, NASA reported.
• At 8:04 p.m., drogue parachutes will deploy to slow and stabilize the capsule as Orion nears splashdown.
• One minute later, three parachutes will deploy to reduce Orion’s speed to less than 136 mph.
• 8:07 p.m., traveling at 20 miles per hour. 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.
• Within two hours of the splashdown, recovery teams will retrieve the crew and transport them to the USS Murtha.

About the mission: Astronauts' 10-day mission around the moon

The Artemis II mission began on April 1 with a successful launch from Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida – marking humanity's first mission to the vicinity of the moon in over 50 years. 

1. Earth orbit (Day 1): The Artemis II astronauts will orbit Earth for one day to confirm all spacecraft systems are functioning properly.
2. To the moon (Days 2–5): Orion’s main engine will fire to propel the capsule out of Earth orbit toward the moon, roughly 244,000 miles (393,000 kilometers) away.
3. Moon flyby (Day 6): Orion will reach its farthest point from Earth, passing about 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) beyond the moon. Astronauts are expected to document the flyby with cameras and smartphones before heading back to Earth.
4. Return (Days 6–9): Using a free-return trajectory, Orion will use the moon’s and Earth’s gravity to guide the spacecraft safely home.
5. Reentry: The service module separates, and the capsule re-enters Earth’s atmosphere, facing temperatures up to 3,000°F (1,650°C).
6. Splashdown: The Artemis II crew will parachute into the Pacific Ocean, completing the mission much like Apollo astronauts did decades ago.

NASA post-splashdown briefing

NASA will host a post-Artemis II briefing at 10:30 p.m.