Liputan6.com, Jakarta - NASA's historic Artemis II mission, the first crewed test flight in the Artemis campaign, is now entering its crucial phase.
After ten days of exploring the Moon, four courageous astronauts are preparing to return to Earth, bringing with them valuable data and experience.
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This flight marks the first return of humans beyond low-Earth orbit since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
The team, consisting of Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist), and Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist from the Canadian Space Agency), has completed their lunar orbit.
They are scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, on April 10, 2026.
Crucial Preparations Ahead of Return to Earth
Inside the Orion capsule, the astronauts have been making intensive preparations for the return journey to Earth.
Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, in particular, are busy securing equipment, unfastening cargo nets, and adjusting crew seats to ensure optimal safety during the intense atmospheric shock.
The Orion capsule is scheduled to perform a second trajectory correction maneuver at 9:53 PM EDT to refine its return path to Earth.
Orion's thrusters will ignite during this final trajectory correction burn.
Approximately 20 minutes before the capsule reaches the upper atmosphere southeast of Hawaii, the Orion service module will separate, leaving the crew capsule to continue its journey.
Upon re-entry, Orion is expected to travel at an extreme speed, reaching approximately 38,406 kilometers per hour.
After splashdown, a deployed U.S. Navy team will immediately evacuate the crew by helicopter and transport them to the USS John P. Murtha for post-mission medical examinations.
NASA Artemis II Mission Highlights
NASA's Artemis II mission has achieved several significant milestones since its successful launch on April 1, 2026, aboard a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
One of its key achievements was the successful lunar flyby by four astronauts.
Impressively, the Artemis II astronauts broke the record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth.
They reached a distance of approximately 406,778 kilometers (252,760 miles), surpassing the previous record held by the Apollo 13 mission.
During the mission, the crew conducted extensive testing to ensure the proper functioning of Orion's systems.
This testing included life support, navigation, power, climate control, and propulsion systems.
Research Results
The astronauts conducted in-depth scientific observations of the Moon, identifying impact craters, ancient lava flows, and the shapes, textures, and colors of other geological features.
They also sought to replicate the legendary "Earthrise" photograph, an iconic moment in the history of space exploration.
Research into the impacts of space travel on the human body, mind, and behavior was also a focus.
Data from the astronauts' biometric sensors was sent back to Earth for analysis, aimed at standardizing safety for future landing missions.
The astronauts also flew beyond Earth's protective magnetosphere and were exposed to the harshest weather elements in space.
The Artemis II space weather team actively tracked coronal mass ejections and solar flares to issue early warnings to the astronauts on duty.
During the mission's journey, NASA released the first images captured during NASA's Artemis II approach to the Moon.
The crew also witnessed a special solar eclipse, a rare and awe-inspiring experience, that can only be seen directly from space.