Artemis II crew recovery: What to expect from splashdown off San Diego

• The Artemis II crew is set to return to Earth after a 10-day mission around the moon.
• Recovery teams will use a Navy ship and helicopters to safely retrieve the crew and the capsule.
• Data, weather, and sea conditions will be closely monitored to ensure the safety of the entire operation.

After a 10-day mission of venturing deeper into space than any humans in history, the Artemis II crew is set to return to Earth on Friday, April 10 — triggering a full-scale recovery operation that involves a U.S. Navy ship and four helicopters.

The Orion spacecraft is expected to descend under parachutes before a splashdown off the California coast near San Diego at approximately 5:07 p.m. PT.

Jason Endsley, the lead ground instrumentation engineer with Amentum, which is NASA's advanced engineering partner with some responsibilities for splashdown, walked the USA TODAY Network's FLORIDAY TODAY through how Friday's splashdown will play out.

“What I’m really looking forward to is that first moment of splashdown. That really solidifies that the U.S. is back," said Endsley, whose primary role is to monitor data to learn from Friday's operation. "The U.S. space supremacy is really moving forward. This is our first major step into crewed deep space exploration.”

Amentum will use a Navy ship with a well deck to handle the entire astronaut retrieval process, from navigating rough waters to transferring the crew directly to the medical bay. The recovery mission's guiding principles: recovery, precision, safety, and efficient execution, Endsley said.

Artemis II splashdown weather

Weather and sea conditions will play a significant role on recovery day.

“We also have to be concerned about sea states, as wave heights and splashing waves, and things like that – it makes it a more complex and difficult operation to recover the crew module,” Endsley said.

“We have a contingency plan in place. We plan for everything in practice,” said Endsley. “So if I notice increasing sea states based in instrumentation I have installed on the navel vessel, I could also inform the test team of that — maybe go to a different area that has better sea states.”

If the Pacific Ocean conditions are particularly rough, they could pause recovery options until the waters calm down.

Getting the Artemis II astronauts out

Once the astronauts splash down, it's the Department of War's job together with NASA's Johnson Space Center to get the astronauts out of Orion.

“If you look back at Apollo recovery, it may look familiar,” said Endsley. “We have a stabilizing collar that’s put around the crew module.”

This stabilizing collar helps keep the Orion spacecraft floating upright in the water. Once stable, teams will install a large inflatable “front porch." The personnel get the astronauts out of the Orion spacecraft and safely onto this floating platform.  

A team of four helicopters — two for primary rescue and two for imaging — will fly in circles over the area. Once ready, a basket will be lowered to hoist the first astronaut up into the first helicopter. The second helicopter will follow and bring up a second astronaut. By the time this second astronaut is recovered, the first helicopter is already coming back around with the basket. Then finally, that second helicopter comes back for the fourth astronaut.

The helicopters transport the crew to the naval vessel where a medical bay is waiting. The astronauts will be given a quick checkup after their ride back from space. Once all is well, they will be transported back to Houston.

Getting the Orion spacecraft back to shore

“Then that’s where my job comes in, of recovering the crew module alongside all the other NASA and Amentum employees we have on the ship,” said Endsley.

Those familiar with SpaceX Dragon recoveries will find Orion recovery looks a bit different. Instead of hoisting the spacecraft right onto the ship, it is floated onboard.

“We use that naval, amphibious floating dock. And there’s a big thing called the wellgate —it’s a big gate in the back of the ship. That is lowered down, and then the back of that ship is filled up with water,” Endsley said.

The Orion spacecraft is then brought onboard the naval vessel and placed in a recovery stand. The water is removed from the wellgate by a process called deballasting.

Once back at shore, Amentum will then secure the Orion in a container to protect it from the elements before shipping it via truck back to Kennedy Space Center.

What do you say to astronauts who flew around the moon

Endsley knows the astronauts personally having worked with them during training. He said he's thought through what he intends to tell them.

“I want to shake their hand and say ‘I’m glad to have you back’. And I’d probably ask them what it was like seeing Earth so far away, seeing the moon up close,” said Endsley. “And congratulate them on such a huge milestone in American space history.”

Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @brookeofstars.