Artemis II launched on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket at 6:35 p.m. on April 1 from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Artemis II reached a maximum distance of 252,756 miles from Earth.
The Smart Dragon 3 launch was described as the first Chinese launch in the post-Artemis II era.
The recovery ship for Artemis II was USS John P. Murtha.
NASA plans to extract and reuse approximately 286 components from the Artemis II Orion capsule for future missions.
Artemis II’s Orion spacecraft and its crew splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean at 01:07 BST and 02:07 CEST on April 11, 2026.
Artemis II exceeded the previous human distance record set by Apollo 13 astronauts in 1970.
The Artemis II astronauts supported additional performance studies aimed at collecting health data for long-duration missions.
Artemis II included tests of Orion life support systems intended to confirm the spacecraft can sustain humans in deep space.
Artemis II returned to Earth after a 10-day test flight.
Artemis II crew members conducted piloting demonstrations to validate Orion handling and collect data for future rendezvous and docking operations for Artemis III and subsequent missions.
NASA chose to keep Orion's thermal shield for Artemis II and instead changed the reentry trajectory to a more direct, steeper profile.
The Smart Dragon 3 launch is the first Chinese launch in the post-Artemis II era.
The Artemis II crew completed tests covering crew exercise, emergency equipment and procedures, and Orion crew survival system spacesuits.
The Artemis II crew captured an Earthset image while passing behind the Moon’s far side.
Artemis II covered nearly ten days and 1.1 million kilometers on a lunar mission.
CSA astronaut Jenni Gibbons served as Artemis CAPCOM in Houston during Artemis II.
The Artemis II recovery team includes specialists from the U.S. military, NASA engineers and technicians, and Lockheed Martin engineers and technicians.
NASA’s Artemis II crew consisted of astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
The Artemis II astronauts supported the AVATAR study on how human tissue responds to microgravity and deep space radiation.