Artemis II crew prepares as spacecraft heads back toward Earth

April 8 (UPI) -- On Wednesday, two days after their historic moon flyby, the crew of the Artemis II mission settled in for a day of testing and preparation for the mission's return to Earth.

This marks the eighth day of the 10-day mission, manned by NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The astronauts woke up to "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie before a morning greeting from CSA workers on Earth, Space.com reported.

"Your friends and colleagues at the Canadian Space Agency wish you another great day on your voyage," the message said. "Canadians everywhere are inspired by your journey, and we're with you every step of the way. Let's go!"

Items on the docket for Wednesday included the daily exercise routine, a media talk, and some manual flying of the Orion capsule and connected testing.

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As the astronauts woke for their eighth day, the spacecraft was still closer to the moon (about 83,000 miles) than to Earth (about 200,000 miles). However, the focus was very much on that return. The astronauts also will do some tests on a garment meant to help them maintain bodily systems such as circulation and blood pressure as they head back to Earth gravity, but a radiation-shielding test was canceled in favor of preparing for reentry.

NASA has marked the Artemis II mission's return to Earth for 8:07 p.m. EST Friday. Plans call for the Orion capsule to splash down off the coast of San Diego, where the USS John P. Murtha will wait for personnel to help the astronauts out and safely on board.

Numerous outlets, including Roku, Netflix and Apple TV, are planning coverage of the event starting at 6:30 p.m. that day. NASA also has constant coverage on its YouTube channel.

NASA successfully launches Artemis II

NASA's Space Launch System rocket carrying the Artemis II crew is launched from Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1, 2026. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo