Apr 11, 2026
3 min read
Four astronauts from the Orion spacecraft landed on the coast of San Diego, California.
"Riding the fireball": how, step by step, the fateful return of the Artemis II crew to Earth.
- Author, Catherine Heathwood
- Name of the author, World Service of the
- Reading time: 6 min
After traveling further than any other person in history, one of the most dangerous parts of the Artemis II mission to the Moon was returning to Earth.
At 20:07, the Orion capsule landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego as planned by NASA.
The US space agency says it is essentially a “textbook”.
In the live broadcast, an announcement was heard saying that the four astronauts were "in excellent condition".
During their last full day in space, the crew is preparing to return to Earth by reviewing re-entry and deceleration, as well as testing pressure suits, which can help prevent dizziness caused by returning to Earth's gravity.
The crew module and service module separated about 20 minutes before Orion reached Earth's upper atmosphere.The crew capsule rotated so that its heat shield absorbed the intense temperatures and kept the astronauts inside safe.
The ship should come in at a very precise angle.Senior Lecturer at the Hypersonic Center at the University of Queensland, Australia.Chris James explained before the splashdown that there was a margin of error, but it was very small: plus or minus one degree.
"When they get to the entry level, they want the same conditions as expected," James said.
The entry interface is the point where a spacecraft passes from space into the planet's upper atmosphere.
"If they come in at too high an altitude and the ship creates some aerodynamic lift, it can bounce back and escape the atmosphere again. So extreme precision is required," the expert said.
Orion reached the entry interface at an altitude of 122 kilometers.
As it passes through space, Orion's heat shield encounters temperatures of about 2,700°C, about half the temperature of the Sun.
The heat shield received special attention after being badly damaged during the first unmanned Artemis mission.However, by adjusting the reentry angle, engineers were confident they had solved the problem.
It took only 13 minutes from entry into the atmosphere until the astronauts landed in the Pacific Ocean.
Twenty-four seconds after re-entry, the capsule lost complete contact with Earth for six minutes.
As the spacecraft moves through the atmosphere, it heats the air to such a degree that electrons are released from oxygen and nitrogen atoms, forming an electrically charged plasma that blocks radio signals.
When the six-minute blackout was over, Orion was about 46 kilometers from the Earth's surface and continued its descent at high speed.
The spacecraft passed through Earth's atmosphere at more than 40,000 kilometers per hour.
To slow down, the first step was to use the atmosphere as a brake.
The Orion box is designed non-aerodynamically, so it affects the environment like a flying brick and then uses the strong resistance of the environment itself to reduce it.
At those speeds, "the astronauts got really excited," James said.
Although unmanned vehicles can go into space in about a minute, with a force of about 100 G, that is more than a human can survive.
To make it more convenient for the crew, entering a certain position can take about five minutes instead of one, thereby reducing the g-force they exert.
Once the spacecraft has safely passed this stage, two pilot parachutes deploy and propel the capsule up to 200 miles per hour (322 kilometers per hour).
The pilot's parachutes were designed to stabilize and decelerate before the main parachutes deployed, which occurred at an altitude of 6,000 feet (1.8 km) and plunged the craft and four passengers slowly over the Pacific Ocean at 20 mph (32 km/h).
A recovery team awaits the astronauts off the coast of California.
The capsule can land vertically, upside down or on its side, and the bright orange airbags will deploy to help keep it upright and allow the crew to exit safely.
It is estimated that the astronauts will return to dry land at Naval Base San Diego within 24 hours of splashdown.
Once the mission is completed, they will have their first chance to walk on solid ground again and reflect on their life's journey.
They will join an exclusive group of 24 astronauts flying around the moon.
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