Watch: NASA gives update ahead of Artemis II's Friday splashdown

NASA officials held a detailed press briefing on Thursday, December 10, 2024, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to outline the critical re-entry and splashdown procedures for the Artemis II mission, scheduled for the following day. The update was provided to ensure transparency and public awareness of the final, high-stakes phase of the uncrewed test flight, which is a pivotal step toward returning humans to the Moon. The briefing focused on the meticulously planned sequence of events for Friday. The Orion spacecraft, after completing its lunar flyby, will perform a crucial engine burn to leave its distant retrograde orbit and begin its journey back to Earth. The re-entry phase presents one of the mission's greatest challenges, as the capsule must withstand temperatures approaching 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius) while hitting the atmosphere at a speed of nearly 25,000 miles per hour (40,000 km/h). NASA engineers expressed confidence in the spacecraft's heat shield, which was rigorously tested but will face its ultimate validation during this atmospheric plunge. Following the successful re-entry, the spacecraft will deploy its parachutes for a final descent and is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of San Diego, California. Recovery teams from NASA and the U.S. Navy are prepositioned aboard the USS Portland to retrieve the Orion capsule and its valuable data. A successful splashdown and recovery will mark the completion of the Artemis II mission, providing essential data to certify the spacecraft's systems for the crewed Artemis III mission, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface.