The Lockheed Martin Corp-built Orion crew capsule carrying the Artemis II crew completed a fiery plunge through the planet’s atmosphere, before touching down under parachutes off the coast of California just after 5pm local time. US Navy boats could be seen on a live broadcast encircling the bobbing Orion capsule after splashdown. During the Artemis I mission in 2022, larger than expected chunks of the heat shield broke off during the uncrewed capsule’s descent. While the Artemis II mission was deemed a success, the trip was not without technical issues. Certainly, we are going to go investigate that,” Howard Hu, Nasa Orion programme manager, said during a press conference after splashdown.

Source: The Edge Markets April 11, 2026 04:51 UTC