'Welcome home, Artemis': Crew celebrates historic 10-day moon mission
After their historic lunar flyby, the crew safely splashed down in the Pacific.
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
- Crew makes 1st appearance since return from historic mission
- 'Welcome home, Artemis': Jubilant and emotional, crew speaks out on historic moon mission
- Trump says he will welcome Artemis II crew to White House 'soon'
- NASA officials hail 'new era' of space exploration after successful mission
- Crew members hoisted into helicopters
- All 4 crew members out of the capsule
Artemis II mission to the moon: By the numbers
As NASA engineers and astronauts prepare to launch the Artemis II rocket to the moon today, here are some key numbers regarding the mission.
Read more here.
-ABC News' Julia Jacobo
Artemis crew awake and beginning launch day activities
The Artemis II crew is now awake and beginning their launch day activities.
NASA astronaut and mission commander Reid Wiseman, NASA astronaut and pilot Victor Glover, NASA astronaut and mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency Astronaut and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen will have breakfast and then begin their final preparations for launch day.
-ABC News' Matthew Glasser
Rocket fueling 'go' has been given
Artemis II Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson has given the "go" for ground teams to begin fueling the SLS rocket, a procedure known as tanking.
Fueling begins with the chilldown step, a critical process that cools the rocket's plumbing and engine systems to super-cold cryogenic temperatures so there aren't any issues when ground teams begin to load the fuel of cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
-ABC News' Matthew Glasser
Watch Artemis II live at Kennedy Space Center
NASA is broadcasting a live feed of the Artemis II moon rocket from the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida.
Teams are activating the ground launch sequencer, the computer that will initiate terminal count -- the final, automated 10 minutes of launch countdown -- which will tell the rocket when to lift off.
Engineers are also initiating the air‑to‑gaseous nitrogen changeover inside the rocket's cavities. NASA says atmospheric air is replaced with inert nitrogen gas, which creates a stable environment before fueling operations.
Watch the live feed here.