By Micah Maidenberg

The Artemis astronauts are on the last leg of their history-making mission around the moon.

Around 7:30 p.m. ET, the crew capsule on the Orion spacecraft is set to separate from the vehicle's propulsion module. That will set up the capsule to dive into the Earth's atmosphere, putting to the test a heat shield designed to protect the ship and astronauts.

The spacecraft is projected to hit speeds of more than 24,000 miles an hour as it plunges back to Earth's surface. Parachutes are set to deploy at an altitude of 22,000 feet, and then at 6,000 feet, to slow Orion's descent to about 20 miles an hour. A recovery team including Navy personnel is waiting to retrieve the crew, expected to splash down near San Diego.

Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen have been stowing gear and preparing the Lockheed Martin-developed Orion capsule for the descent.

Since launching last week, NASA's Artemis II mission has taken its crew farther from Earth than anyone has previously traveled, circling around the moon's far side. It is part of a series of missions that aims to return U.S. astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 10, 2026 18:29 ET (22:29 GMT)

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