NASA gears up for Artemis II crew's return to Earth
With astronauts closing out on-board tests, flight controllers are prepping for reentry and splashdown Friday.
Updated on: April 8, 2026 / 11:35 PM EDT / CBS News
Hurtling back toward Earth after a historic loop around the moon, the Artemis II astronauts worked through a relatively light day in space Wednesday, wrapping up a few final tests before packing up for reentry and splashdown Friday.
Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen planned to hold a news conference late Wednesday, answering reporters' questions about the flight, the first piloted trip around the moon in more than a half century.
The crew had planned to take another turn at manually piloting their Orion capsule , testing their ability, as pilots and non-pilots, to precisely maneuver the spacecraft. NASA is considering opening up commander and pilot positions to a wider range of astronauts.
But Wednesday's test, the second to involve all four crew members, was called off to give flight controllers time to troubleshoot an oxygen pressurization issue in the crew ship's service module that cropped up shortly after launch.
Otherwise, the ground team reviewed the re-entry timeline and Navy recovery crews headed to the splashdown site off the southern California coast near San Diego where the Orion capsule is expected to splash down at 8:07 p.m. EDT Friday. Favorable weather is expected with light winds and moderate seas.