Following their historic lunar flyby, the Artemis II crew is nearing the end of their 10-day mission, which will conclude Friday with the most intense phase of any astronaut’s journey: reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, followed by splashdown.<\/p>\n
This is the critical moment where the spacecraft proves it can safely carry its crew back home.\u00a0But when reentry begins, the world will need to wait about six minutes for that proof — the length of time that Mission Control will lose communication with the Artemis II crew.<\/p>\n
Watch live coverage as the Artemis II crew returns to Earth beginning at 7 p.m. ET on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu with special coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m ET on ABC.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n A visualization of the Artemis I spacecraft reentering Earth’s atmosphere as Artemis II prepares to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n NASA<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Unlike the 40-minute loss of communications experienced when the Orion crew module passed behind the moon, which physically blocked radio signals from reaching the spacecraft, loss of communication during reentry results from Orion’s passage through Earth’s atmosphere.<\/p>\n Orion will be falling to Earth at over\u00a024,000 mph\u00a0when it encounters the atmosphere. As the atmosphere thickens, friction will slow the spacecraft. It will also create a lot of heat \u2013 up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit,\u00a0which is more than twice as hot as lava from a volcano \u2013 turning Orion into a fireball.<\/p>\n It will take Orion about 13 minutes to travel the 400,000 feet from space to splashdown off the coast of San Diego, Calif.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything’s different,\u201d retired NASA astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore told ABC News. \u201cThe speeds are much, much greater coming back from deep space.\u201d<\/p>\n Together, the friction and compression of the atmosphere as Orion falls creates a plasma bubble that will engulf the spacecraft, according to NASA. It’s that engulfing plasma that doesn’t allow radio signals in or out.<\/p>\n Orion snapped this high-resolution selfie in space with a camera mounted on one of its solar array wings during a routine external inspection of the spacecraft on the second day into the Artemis II mission, April 3, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n NASA<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Within seconds, the Artemis II crew will lose communication with ground controllers as what NASA calls a \u201cplanned six-minute blackout period\u201d begins.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou know the blackout\u2019s coming,\u201d said Wilmore, who experienced reentry from space three times during his time as an astronaut. \u201cBecause of that, you just go press through just like your normal processes, you\u2019re monitoring. There\u2019s not a lot you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone inside the spacecraft is laser-focused on monitoring the onboard systems during their descent through the atmosphere, according to Wilmore, who added that astronauts train for \u201call types of failures,\u201d so their mindset is just to concentrate on the jobs at hand.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t let apprehension involve you in those time frames,\u201d Wilmore told ABC News. \u201cYou have to focus on your task, whatever that might be, and you have to perform because if you don\u2019t, the consequences are pretty dire.\u201d<\/p>\n Those six minutes of radio silence are also when Orion\u2019s heat shield, located on the underside of the spacecraft, does its most critical work, protecting Orion and its crew from the intense temperatures of reentry.\u00a0Onboard maneuvering jets ensure Orion maintains the orientation required to keep the heat shield pointed toward Earth during reentry.<\/p>\n Commander Reid Wiseman gazes at Earth from Orion\u2019s windows, a reminder of home as they travel toward the moon.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n NASA<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n After Orion completes its passage through the outer atmosphere and emerges from its communications blackout, it will still be\u00a0traveling too fast for it to survive the splashdown into the Pacific. That’s when a series of specially designed\u00a0parachutes will deploy, slowing Orion’s speed to a far safer 20 mph at the time of splashdown.<\/p>\n Orion is scheduled for splashdown at 5:07 p.m. PT\/8:07 p.m. ET Friday, April 10,\u00a0at a site\u00a0off the coast of San Diego.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/eedd9cbe-0add-47c6-aeb8-01ab171ff300\/artemis-reentry-ht-gmh-260409_1775767778061_hpMain.jpg?w=375)
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>What happens when reentry begins<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/01bdd804-2afa-4441-869b-51bd7e83fa4d\/artemis-10-ht-gmh-260406_1775480433562_hpMain_4x3.jpg?w=375)
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>What\u2019s happening inside Orion?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
When <\/strong>the signal steps out, the heat shield steps in<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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