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Artemis 2 (10/4)

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The final day of the space mission, including splashdown, which takes place in the early hours of tomorrow (11th April 2026).

But first this interesting video from Speedify which attempted to explain the differences between 2026’s Artemis 2 mission and that of the Apollo missions.

He is quite right about these things. The Apollo broadcasts are still outstanding however because they were practically as things happened (given a very short time delay). And those for Artemis were in fact of higher quality (or bitrate etc). Nevertheless the low quality the Artemis 2 lunar flyby afforded disappointed many because there seemed little desire to excel beyond what Apollo had achieved. Have discussed this in other posts anyway.

1815pm UK time: MSS just said six hours forty eight minutes to splashdown. Cloud cover is expected to be minimal and weather looks good.

Current view of Orion with earth in the background. About 52,000 miles to go however speed is now 5,900mph and increasing.

Just six hours and counting. Live picture from Orion as the crew prepare for the return to earth.

The crew and MSS are currently in some confusion over a file and they are discussing whether it ought to be Version one or Version two. It seems MSS saved it as Version one but the Orion crew saved it as Version two. These are part of the steps for the craft’s re-entry – and it seems both MSS and the Orion crew are going over every detail (its called the burn conference apparently) ensuring everything is up to date for the approach and re-entry etc and going over the critical numbers for the return trajectory.

In about thirty minutes (around 19.53pm UK time) time a correction burn will take place. Another will occur at 00.37 UK time.

Tonight’s blackout (due to the re-entry and plasma around the craft) is expected to be from about 00.53 and last six minutes.

Published a couple of hours ago – Scott Manley on the pros and cons of the various types of heat shield and the latest design for Artemis.

As Scott says, it remains to be seen whether the latest heat shield is successful tonight.

The weather around the landing site area is not too bad at the moment. Its just a little misty currently.

Earth is now just under 29,000 miles. Orion’s velocity has increased to just over 8,000mph.

The quality of the live stream is now so good earth looks splendid in the midst of space.

Again I’m watching the NASA’s Artemis II Live Views from Orion which has a max of 720p60 yet its got more detail than the other – NASA’s Artemis II Live Mission Coverage (Official Broadcast) – which I’m running at 1080p HD and yet the quality isn’t quite as good as the other.

MCC just announced (21.57pm UK time) splashdown is in 3 hours and ten minutes.

Just a thought these posts are not meant to be professional or have any depth of knowledge on rocketry or moon missions etc. Its just a matter of having something to look forward to and to write up about it as things happen. Its good for me even if its not good for others!

The live view from the solar panel of the service module has just changed. (22.00 UK time).

In just a few minutes the crew will undertake a checklist for re-entry and then put on their spacesuits.

Live picture quality looking great ATM.

The earth is growing quite fast! Orion is speeding home! This is the same sort of anticipation and excitement we had for the Apollo missions. Nerve wracking and biting fingernails and hoping everything will be perfect!

How long will the live stream from the solar arrays last? Expect it’ll either be after a certain velocity or even just before they eject the service module. When Orion left earth on its trajectory for the moon it was doing 25,000 miles per hour and the cameras were still recording! A descent is very different however and I imagine the cameras might have to end recording much earlier.

26,000 miles to earth. Velocity 8,600mph.

Its been said Jared Isaacman, NASA’s Administrator, has just touched down aboard USS John P. Murtha, in advance of Orion’s splashdown.

Are we seeing the bulge in earth’s shape? Its not a perfect sphere but has a bulge around the equatorial area. Is that why the planet looks ‘out of shape’?

22.30pm UK time. Solar arrays repositioned to show earth better as it was dipping below the boundary of the screen!

MCC just announced the crew have put on their suits and are now checking these for integrity and leaks. The next major stage in the descent is the separation of both service and crew modules (in just under two hours time) at 6.33pm (00.33am UK time) followed four minute later by a 19 second burn to induce a change in velocity.

The crew have said they have a CO2 alarm… MCC said that had been observed before and it should go away. MCC said they will check back in five minutes and see if it has resolved.

Earth getting much bigger! The ‘bulge’ is still visible.

Camera angle just changed again (or solar panel adjusted rather).

Its a good move. A first I didn’t think it was, but it is great because having a solar array set against the earth has provided a means of observing Orion’s movement towards the planet! One can actually see the craft moving towards the earth! Not only that it appears the earth’s rotation can just be discerned too (or maybe its the clouds moving).

Now 20,000 miles to earth/splashdown.

These views are the best I have seen! They’re miles better than the lunar fly by too! Its f**cking brilliant!

I think the bulge may be due to the lens on the Go Pros cameras.

Can see a face on earth! Looks like a cat or something of that sort…

Why has NASA gone and spoilt the view?

Earth was moving out of view maybe it was getting beyond the range the camera/solar array could move?

Another adjustment and we are back to what seems an earlier view…

The give-away is at least the ‘cat face’ can still be seen. Indeed its getting more and more like a cat’s face!

16,000 miles to earth. 10,700 mph. 23.20 UK time the crew of Orion just announced they had completed their space suits and checks and are ready for this critical phase of the mission.

The crew all suited up ready for the descent. (seems Jeremy and Christina not quite ready in the picture shown).

NASA have just ceased their live broadcast [NASA’s Artemis II Live Mission Coverage (Official Broadcast)} and will start an official one soon!

Two different broadcasts now, one showing the crew live and the other from MCC discussing the mission and what is expected in the next two hours or so. Live broadcast also from the USS John P. Murtha. The weather in the Pacific seems fair ATM. They say they have five planes with cameras which will provide views of the splashdown.

Cameras aboard the USS John P. Murtha ready for splashdown.

What seems the latest scene from the Go Pros on Orion’s solar panels.

NASA on board the USS John P. Murtha says the weather conditions are ‘awesome’ because the clouds are starting to break.

Some 7,600 miles above earth now and above the west coast of Australia. Velocity 13,895mph.

Re-entry in abut half an hour. Integrity and European service module separate in about 17 minutes.

Integrity and European service modules go their separate ways.

1500 miles left to splashdown. 21,000mph speed.

View of out Integrity’s window with one of the crew reflected.

Earth comes up at bottom of window while the crew are still reflected in it.

Earth as Integrity zooms across it.

The very point where the plasma begins to envelope the craft almost immediately the backout begins.

Craft in the Pacific (for example USS Helios) can see Integrity even though there’s still two minutes of blackout.

Crew have responded and they are all great. Five more minutes to splashdown.

Integrity firing its boosters to help its orientation towards the landing site.

Splashdown!

Safe and sound on the Pacific Ocean!

It has been exciting to see Artemis 2’s return home. One thing I thought on seeing these scenes however was just how primitive all this is. No advanced race would in their right mind conceive of parachutes and splashdowns to land a craft. But that is the way humanity is. True advancement seems almost an impossibility.

Update 11th April 2026: A number of pictures of the Artemis crew after their splashdown were published. Here’s one of those! NASA.

There’ll be pics of the crew emerging from the capsule. There’s already live pictures of boats arriving and various personnel getting ready etc to retrieve the Orion crew. And more since, including photo-ops aboard the USS John P. Murtha.

This is where I’m leaving it. I enjoyed this live blogging even if no-one read it LOL! There was one point at which I was watching live pics from Artemis, and on another screen I was seeing what some quantum physicians espoused upon how reality emerged and the rest of it, including quantum entanglement, and what they were saying almost composed the entire opposite spectrum to which the Artemis mission was put to plus the view we have on space and interstellar travel. It was a good omen for me because more quantum physicists are now questioning reality. I actually studied the question of realty and my text book was The Social Construction of Reality by Berger and Luckmann. Around fifty years ago I began writing the first of a number of works I have done on this subject, and soon after reality as debated in quantum physics also came into it. Anyone who puts forward good arguments about the question of reality gets my beer because there’s no doubt the society/societies we live are certainly not based on any form of reality. Sociology, psychology and quantum physics I also study intensively, even though I don’t show that on any of my blogs – bar one specialised one.

There was a young lady named Bright
Whose speed was far faster than light;
She set out one day
In a relative way
And returned on the previous night.

Not only is the Universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think.

All of physics is either impossible or trivial. It is impossible until you understand it and then it becomes trivial.

Postscript (12 April 2026):

The following video kept coming up in my recommendations. Its a good one. The presenter asks the difference between Apollo and Artemis and what the future holds and why that was so different back in the 1960s. And why the space race isn’t so interesting anymore.

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