'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 02, 2026, 5:51 PM EDT

Get to know Christina Koch, the 1st female astronaut to travel around the moon

NASA astronaut Christina Koch is making history as the first woman to travel around the moon.

Koch, 47, is among the four-person crew aboard the Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis II mission, which lifted off Wednesday evening from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a 10-day journey.

PHOTO: Astronaut Christina Koch leaves the Operations and Checkout Building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-B and a planned liftoff on NASA's Artemis II moon rocket at the Kennedy Space Center, on April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Astronaut Christina Koch smiles as she talks to family members as she leaves the Operations and Checkout Building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-B and a planned liftoff on NASA's Artemis II moon rocket at the Kennedy Space Center, on April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Chris O'Meara/AP

Koch, who was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and grew up in Jacksonville, North Carolina, is no stranger to record-setting NASA missions.

Koch was first selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013. In December 2019, she set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, spending 328 consecutive days in space, according to NASA, and was part of the first all-female spacewalk in October 2019 with Jessica Meir.

Read more about Koch here.

-ABC News' Kelly McCarthy

Apr 02, 2026, 4:55 PM EDT

A look at the stages of the Artemis II journey

After a successful launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday evening, the Artemis II crew of four is headed to the moon on a 10-day journey.

How does a nearly 6 million-pound rocket and crew module make that journey possible? It’s all about physics.

Read more here to learn about the stages from liftoff to Earth orbit to the trans-lunar injection burn and, finally, the journey home.

-ABC News' Briana Alvarado

Apr 02, 2026, 4:21 PM EDT

Crucial trans-lunar injection burn is a 'go'

The Artemis II mission management team has polled "go" for the crucial trans-lunar injection burn, which will send the crew on its path to the moon.

The burn will take place at 7:49 p.m. ET.

-ABC News' Matthew Glasser

Apr 02, 2026, 3:07 PM EDT

Artemis II crew awakens to John Legend's 'Green Light'

NASA's Mission Control in Houston just awakened the Artemis II crew with the song "Green Light," by John Legend featuring the rapper André 3000. The astronauts also received voice messages from members of the NASA workforce.

The crew will begin flight day 2 activities and operations, including exercise time, and is now approximately 20 hours into the mission.

PHOTO: CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen with NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch walk out before traveling to the launch pad to board the Artemis II crewed lunar mission at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, April 1, 2026.
CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen with NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch walk out before traveling to the launch pad to board the Artemis II crewed lunar mission at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 1, 2026.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In the next few hours, the Artemis II mission management team will decide whether to proceed with the trans-lunar injection burn that will send Orion on its path to the moon.

In response to the musical wakeup, Artemis II mission commander Reid Wiseman replied, "Houston, Integrity, we are ready to go, and that was awesome. Thank you for all those messages."

-ABC News' Matthew Glasser

Related Topics

Sponsored Content by Taboola