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

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

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.

Apr 01, 2026, 5:16 PM EDT

Trump calls NASA administrator to 'wish everyone luck'

President Donald Trump called NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman Wednesday afternoon to "wish everyone luck this evening" ahead of the Artemis II launch, according to a post by one of Trump's top advisers.

"We will all be watching, along with the rest of the world," Dan Scavino, an assistant to the president and one of Trump's top aides, added in the post on X.

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

Apr 01, 2026, 4:48 PM EDT

NASA troubleshooting Artemis II issue

NASA is troubleshooting an issue with the flight termination system (FTS), a critical safety component.

The FTS is designed to safely stop the rocket if it veers off its planned path, to protect people or property on the ground.

To help fix the issue, the team is bringing in a piece of hardware that was originally used on Space Shuttle missions.

-ABC News' Matthew Glasser and Briana Alvarado

Apr 01, 2026, 4:17 PM EDT

Hatch seal check completed on Orion spacecraft

The closeout crew has completed its hatch seal check for the Orion crew module's side hatch, which allows them to watch for any loss of pressure over time or making sure the door is completely airtight.

Engineers are focusing on conducting a full cabin leak check before moving forward with closing the second hatch on the Orion spacecraft, which is the Launch Abort System hatch.

A member of the close out crew closes the hatch on the Orion crew module at the top of the Artemis II rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 1, 2026.
NASA

-ABC News' Briana Alvarado

Apr 01, 2026, 3:48 PM EDT

1 of 2 hatches closed on Orion spacecraft

The closeout crew has now closed the side hatch, one of two hatches on the Orion crew module. The remaining hatch that the team is working to close is the Launch Abort System hatch.

This comes after the space agency confirmed that the spacesuits of all four astronauts passed their leak checks while in the Orion module, which once again tested the suits' pressure, ensuring they are airtight.

-ABC News' Briana Alvarado

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