Where is the Artemis II mission? Live tracker for astronauts
Here's what to know about how far the astronauts are from Earth and the moon, as well as how you can use NASA's official tracker to keep up with their journey.
Eric Lagatta- The Artemis II astronauts are on their return journey to Earth after a historic mission around the moon.
- The crew traveled farther from Earth than any human in history and saw the far side of the moon.
- NASA provides a real-time online tracker for the public to follow the Orion spacecraft's location.
- The Orion capsule is scheduled for a water landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
The Artemis II astronauts are approaching the point where they are closer in space to Earth than they are to the moon – a key point in their return journey signifying that the end of the historic mission is near.
As of Thursday morning (April 9,) the Orion spacecraft carrying the crew still had tens of thousands of miles to go ahead of a planned water landing Friday, April 10, off the California coast. About nine days into their journey, the astronauts – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of NASA, as well as the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen – appeared to be in good spirits while taking questions during a media conference.
And why wouldn't they be?
During their trailblazing journey, the four of them traveled farther from Earth than any spacefarer in human history ever has while seeing sights of the moon's far side that no one else has ever experienced. Now, they’re less than two days away from returning home.
Here's what to know about how far the astronauts are from Earth and the moon, as well as how you can use NASA's official tracker to keep up with their journey.
How far are the Artemis II astronauts from Earth?
As of the morning of Thursday, April 9, the Orion capsule carrying the Artemis II astronauts is nearing 160,000 miles from Earth, leaving the moon about 120,000 miles behind, according to NASA's online tracker.
Artemis II tracker. Follow moon mission location
Want to follow the astronauts along the Artemis II lunar journey? NASA has an Artemis II tracker available online and on its mobile app that allows users to see where Orion is, how fast it's traveling and how far the spacecraft is from both the Earth and the moon.
The mobile version for smartphones even includes an augmented reality feature that allows users to move their phones to see where Orion is relative to Earth.
➤ Download the app here: Apple App Store | Google Play
The tracker, officially referred to as the "Artemis Real-time Orbit Website" (AROW), uses data collected in real time by sensors on the Orion spacecraft sent to the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. That information will be constantly updated beginning about one minute after liftoff until Orion begins its re-entry into Earth's atmosphere about 10 days later.
Countdown clock for Artemis II landing near California
See Artemis II lunar flyby images
Artemis II update. Crew returning to Earth
During their last full day in space, the Artemis II astronauts are due to spend Thursday, April 9, working with flight control teams back on Earth to review landing procedures and prepare the Orion vehicle for reentering Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA.
When does Artemis II return to Earth? Splashdown, reentry time
The astronauts are in the middle of a four-day journey back to Earth, using our planet's gravity to naturally "slingshot," or pull Orion back home, negating the need for propulsion or much fuel.
The Orion capsule is due Friday, April 10, to reenter Earth's atmosphere to make a water landing around 8:07 p.m. ET in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California.
When reentry occurs, Orion's service module responsible for propelling and maneuvering the vehicle through space will separate and burn up, exposing the crew module's heat shield that protects the astronauts from the 3,000-degree Fahrenheit conditions the vehicle will endure.
Once Orion blazes through Earth's atmosphere, the protective heat shield will be cast off to make way for parachutes to deploy and slow the vehicle down.
The capsule will then splashdown in the ocean, after which five orange airbags will inflate around the top of the spacecraft and flip the capsule into an upright position. After the landing, the crew would exit the vehicle onto a U.S. Navy recovery vessel within about two hours.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]