Artemis II Is Headed Back to Earth — But Where (and When) Will It Land?

The crew of Artemis II is expected to return to Earth after their record-breaking lunar flyby. The mission, which successfully began on April 1, 2026, when four astronauts boarded a spaceship at Florida's Kennedy Space Station, is expected to last a little over a week.

Things got off to an amazing start for the astronauts as they left Earth's atmosphere for the moon, which they orbited completely around, marking the flight the furthest humans have ever traveled into space.

However, people are eager for the crew to make its triumphant return home in a maneuver that is known as a splashdown, so that we can hear all about the things they've seen and learned about space. Not only that, but the astronauts are said to have collected some amazing photos, videos, and observations during their trip, the likes of which humans have never seen before.

As such, everyone wants to know exactly when and where Artemis II is landing. Keep reading to find out.

According to the folks over at Space.com, Artemis II will make its triumphant return on April 10, 2026. If it remains on course, it's expected to end up in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Francisco. From there, a Navy ship will sail out to the rocket to pick up the astronauts.

As for the timing, the calculation from NASA has it arriving at approximately 8:07 p.m. EDT. If you were one of the excited people who tuned in to watch the spaceship launch, you may get to do it again in reverse.

That's because NASA's YouTube channel and NBC News Now appear to be set to stream the ship's return, according to the news agency.

Of course, those who watched the launch know that there are a few things that can hinder the experience, including bad weather. However, the timing should remain pretty much on target unless something big happens to pull the ship off course, because, unlike delays with the launch, it's hard to stop the ship from returning once it enters Earth's atmosphere.

As we said, the ship should splash down in the Pacific a little after 8 p.m. The process itself is actually pretty fast. According to a timeline shared by KHON2, the entire process will begin at 1:50 p.m. EDT on the day that Artemis II is set to make re-entry. From there, it will run through several different process steps, which include trajectory corrections and the separation from the Orion module.

At 7:37 p.m., the crew will perform a raise burn, and then at 7:53 p.m., the entry interface starts.

As you can see, once things really get going, they happen pretty quickly. But don't expect to immediately get a glimpse at the astronauts as soon as they land. After they are pulled from the water by the Navy, they will be whisked away for a quick medical check-up to make sure they are all OK after their trip.

Then, at 10:30 p.m., NASA will begin its post-splashdown news conference, where it's likely that they will discuss details from the mission as well as how the astronauts are feeling now that they are Earthside once again.