NASA's Artemis II mission returns to Earth Friday: Know where to watch astronauts’ historic return live

Following a groundbreaking voyage to orbit the Moon, NASA’s Artemis II mission is now gearing up for its most exciting part, the homecoming back to Earth. The crew of four astronauts in the Orion capsule is about to go through an intense re-entry procedure and then land on Earth. This offers space enthusiasts worldwide a rare opportunity to witness, in real time, the finale of a crewed mission around the Moon.Through extensive media coverage scheduled via several channels, the last leg of the Artemis II mission will bring a lot of excitement. Orion space vehicle has been confirmed by NASA to land in the Pacific Ocean near the Californian coastline on 11th April 2026 (IST). According to NASA, the splashdown is expected to occur at about 8:07 p.m. Eastern time on 10th April, which translates to about 5:37 a.m. IST on 11th April.This will come after a blazing re-entry through the atmosphere when the spacecraft approaches close to Earth's surface at almost 25,000 miles per hour before slowing down for the splashdown in the sea.As per NASA, the current phase is the most crucial period during the entire operation since it puts the spacecraft’s heat shield and retrieval system to the test under difficult conditions. The mission is historic in its own right, having travelled to places much farther from Earth than any other spacecraft manned by human beings.The NASA broadcast for this mission will be live, meaning people all over the world will get to experience the journey of reentry until recovery of the spacecraft. The broadcast for this mission is expected to start at 6:30 p.m. ET (approximately 4 a.m. IST on April 11).Some of the platforms that will allow you to watch the live event include:It is noted by NASA that “viewers will see live coverage of the Artemis II crew’s return to Earth”. Besides NASA’s live event, there are other platforms around the globe streaming the critical aspects of this event.However, the splashdown is not only an ending point for the 10-day journey but rather the beginning of the next stage. First of all, this mission can be regarded as the first one of NASA's Artemis programme with human crews on board. The last time humans left low-Earth orbit was in 1972 during the Apollo 17 mission.Moreover, the mission itself can be considered as a test for the equipment used by the crew, particularly the life-support system, navigation, and communication in deep space. It is worth mentioning that NASA stresses the need for such tests to make sure that the spacecraft functions properly in deep space conditions "before attempting a moon landing".The data collected during the process of re-entry and splashdown will be valuable for the following missions of NASA, particularly for Artemis III, when the crew is supposed to land on the moon's surface.