NASA Artemis II returning on April 11: When is the splashdown and how to watch live?

Artemis II launched on April 2 from the Kennedy Space Center, and has already broken Apollo 13's record of farthest distance travelled by humans from Earth.

The Artemis II mission is in its seventh day and it has largely been smooth sailing so far. Except for the issues with Orion spacecraft's toilet, NASA has reported no hiccups that the four-person crew may have experienced since launch.

The historic mission launched on April 2 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and has already broken Apollo 13's record of farthest distance travelled by humans from Earth. On April 7, the Orion spacecraft was 4,06,764 km from Earth at its farthest, as opposed to Apollo 13's Command Module which went as far as 4,00,171 km.

The mission crew itself has set several records. Canadian astronaut and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen is the first non-American to fly this far into space, whereas mission pilot Victor Glover is the first person of colour on a Moon mission. Another mission specialist, Christina Koch, on the other hand, is the first woman to be part of a lunar flight.

Artemis II prepares to head home

As the mission nears its end, the Artemis II crew is stowing away hardware and installing their seats before reentry. According to NASA, there are a few activities that the astronauts will complete before fully committing to reentry.

These activities include final exercise routine using the flywheel equipment, testing and evaluating the orthostatic intolerance garment that will help maintain blood pressure and circulation during the transition back to Earth’s gravity, and manually piloting the Orion spacecraft for a demonstration.

When all this is done, they will prepare for the splashdown. According to NASA, the splashdown is scheduled for April 11 at 6:37 am IST off the coast of San Diego, California, 14 minutes after Orion hits the Earth's atmosphere.

The live coverage of their return will begin on 4 am and you can watch it on NASA's YouTube channel and X, or NASA+, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Netflix, HBO Max, Discovery+ and Peacock.