On their last full day in space, the Artemis II crew began the morning with “Lonesome Drifter” by Charley Crockett as they approached Earth at 147,337 miles.
Artemis II Flight Day 9: Crew Prepares to Come Home


On their last full day in space, the Artemis II crew began the morning with “Lonesome Drifter” by Charley Crockett as they approached Earth at 147,337 miles.

Editor’s Note: This blog was updated on April 8, 2026, to update the time for the crew news conference. In addition, flight controllers elected to forgo the 10:55 p.m. EDT manual piloting demo. Editor’s Note: This blog was updated to provide information on the originally scheduled radiation shielding demonstration. Aboard the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, […]

At 8:03 p.m. EDT, the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, ignited its thrusters for 15 seconds, producing a change in velocity of 1.6 feet-per-second and guiding the Artemis II crew toward Earth. NASA astronaut Christina Koch and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen reviewed procedures and monitored the spacecraft’s configuration and navigation data. During today’s mission status briefing, NASA officials shared the first images received from the crew during the lunar flyby and […]

After their historic lunar flyby on April 6, the Artemis II crew is awake and preparing for the journey back to Earth. The crew started the day 36,286 miles from the Moon and 236,022 miles from Earth, waking to the sounds of “Tokyo Drifting,” by Glass Animals and Denzel Curry. At 1:23 p.m. EDT, the […]

The Artemis II mission wrapped up a historic seven-hour lunar flyby, marking humanity’s first return to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 and capturing images of the lunar far side. After the lunar observation period concluded, the Artemis II crew was congratulated by President Donald J. Trump, in a live conversation that aired as […]

NASA’s live coverage of the Artemis II lunar flyby is underway on NASA+, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, and Roku, alongside the agency’s 24/7 coverage on its YouTube channel. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.

The Artemis II crew is awake and beginning preparations for today’s lunar flyby — a first for humans since Apollo 17 in 1972. The sounds of “Good Morning,” by Mandisa and TobyMac played as NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, woke up just […]

Mission control teams in Houston and the Artemis II crew completed an outbound correction burn to refine the Orion spacecraft’s trajectory to the Moon. The burn began at 11:03 p.m. EDT and lasted 17.5 seconds. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, continue on a precise path to flyby the Moon on Monday, April 6. Early in their workday, the crew completed a […]

The Artemis II crew of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, continue their workday aboard the Orion spacecraft.

The morning opened to the beat of “Working Class Heroes (Work)” by CeeLo Green as the Artemis II crew, now flying about 65,235 miles from the Moon, began preparations for their first test objective: an evaluation of the Orion Crew Survival System suit. The crew also heard a special message from Apollo astronaut Charlie Duke.