The Orion spacecraft of the Artemis II mission returns to Earth after a 10-day mission, and multiple television networks and streaming platforms will broadcast live coverage of the event on Friday.
The Artemis II mission is scheduled to splash down off the coast of San Diego on Friday at approximately 8:07 p.m. EDT (5:07 p.m. PDT), NASA said. After splashdown, the recovery team will use a helicopter to retrieve the crew and transport them to the USS John P. Martha.
In all, the spacecraft’s four-person crew is expected to have traveled a total of 695,081 miles from launch to splashdown. During its closest approach, the spacecraft passed within 4,070 miles of the moon’s surface.
Here you can see the Artemis II spacecraft and astronauts returning to Earth.
NASA+: Watch for free at plus.nasa.gov or on NASA’s YouTube channel. NASA has provided continuous coverage of Artemis II throughout the mission. Another Splashdown livestream will begin at 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT. Netflix, Prime Video, Peacock, and HBO Max are each hosting a NASA livestream on their platforms starting at 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT. CBS News will air a live one-hour special, “Artemis II Return to Earth,” beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on CBS Network, CBS News 24/7 and cbsnews.com. NBC News will present live coverage of the mission on its website at this link. CNN’s special “Mission to the Moon: Artemis II Returns” coverage will be broadcast on the television network from 7:00 to 11:00 PM ET. CNN also hosts a NASA livestream on its website at this link. ABC News will be providing non-stop live coverage of Artemis II’s atmospheric re-entry, splashdown, and recovery sequence starting at 7:00 PM ET, and you can stream it live online at this link (no sign-in required). In addition, ABC News coverage of the mission will be broadcast on the ABC Network from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. ET (4:30 to 5:30 p.m. PT).
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