'Welcome home, Artemis': Crew celebrates historic 10-day moon mission

After their historic lunar flyby, the crew safely splashed down in the Pacific.

ByMary Kekatos, Julia Jacobo, Leah Sarnoff, Ivan Pereira, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: April 11, 2026, 5:12 PM EDT

NASA's Artemis II mission lifted off on April 1 at 6:35 p.m. ET from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The four-person crew completed a 695,081-mile, 10-day journey around the moon, also known as a lunar fly-by.

A "textbook" splashdown took place at 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday, April 10.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Apr 11, 2026, 10:37 AM EDT

Trump says he will welcome Artemis II crew to White House 'soon'

Following the successful historic splashdown of the Artemis II mission Friday evening, President Donald Trump congratulated the crew and looked forward to welcoming them at the White House, which he says will take place "soon."

"Congratulations to the Great and Very Talented Crew of Artemis II. The entire trip was spectacular, the landing was perfect and, as President of the United States, I could not be more proud! I look forward to seeing you all at the White House soon," Trump wrote Friday on his social media platform.

On Monday, the president called into the spacecraft and told the crew that he would "absolutely find the time" to welcome them to the Oval Office, though he did not specify when.

Apr 10, 2026, 10:58 PM EDT

NASA officials hail 'new era' of space exploration after successful mission

At a press conference following the safe splashdown of the Artemis II crew in the Pacific Ocean on Friday evening, NASA officials hailed the historic 10-day mission and said bigger challenges lie ahead.

"So, ya'll, we did it," said Lori Haze, deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.

Howard Hu, NASA Orion program manager, said: "This is the start of a new era of human space exploration."

By 2028, NASA plans to land a crew on the surface of the moon with the Artemis IV mission.

PHOTO: US-CANADA-SPACE-ARTEMIS II-NASA
Lori Glaze (C), acting associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, speaks next to NASA's associate administrator Amit Kshatriya (L) and NASA flight director Rick Henfling (R), during a press conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on April 10, 2026, after the Artemis II astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images

Amit Kshatriya, associate NASA administrator, said the successful ending of the mission means "the path to the lunar surface is open," but hard work remains ahead.

"Fifty-three years ago, humanity left the moon. This time we returned to stay," Kshatriya said. "Let us finish what they started ... Let us not go to plant flags and leave -- but to stay."

Apr 10, 2026, 9:56 PM EDT

Crew members hoisted into helicopters

One by one, the members of the Artemis crew are being hoisted into waiting helicopters after the successful splashdown following the 10-day mission around the moon.

The helicopters are carrying the astronauts to the USS John P. Murtha off the coast of San Diego.

A NASA Artemis II crew member is pulled up to a helicopter from a raft in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, April 10, 2026.
NASA
A NASA Artemis II crew member is pulled up to a helicopter from a raft in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, April 10, 2026.
NASA
Apr 10, 2026, 9:37 PM EDT

All 4 crew members out of the capsule

Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman is the last crewmember to come out of the capsule.

The process to hoist them up to awaiting Navy helicopters will begin shortly.

NASA's Artemis II crewmembers, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen sit in a raft in the Pacific Ocean after exiting the Orion spacecraft off the coast of San Diego, April 10, 2026.
NASA

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