U.S. Navy airmen and sailors military prepare on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, for the splashdown of NASA's Orion spacecraft carrying the Artemis II crew into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California scheduled for Friday, April 10. The Artemis II mission carrying Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, along with Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), launched on Wednesday, April 1, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin its 10-day journey around the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

U.S. Navy airmen and sailors military prepare on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, for the splashdown of NASA's Orion spacecraft carrying the Artemis II crew into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California scheduled for Friday, April 10. The Artemis II mission carrying Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, along with Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), launched on Wednesday, April 1, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin its 10-day journey around the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

U.S. Navy airmen and sailors military prepare on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, for the splashdown of NASA's Orion spacecraft carrying the Artemis II crew into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California scheduled for Friday, April 10. The Artemis II mission carrying Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, along with Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), launched on Wednesday, April 1, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin its 10-day journey around the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

U.S. Navy airmen and sailors military prepare on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, for the splashdown of NASA's Orion spacecraft carrying the Artemis II crew into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California scheduled for Friday, April 10. The Artemis II mission carrying Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, along with Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), launched on Wednesday, April 1, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin its 10-day journey around the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

NASA’s Air Operations Co-Lead Don Reed briefs the air ops team during Underway Recovery Test 9 (URT-9) aboard the USS John P. Murtha. During the weeklong test, NASA’s Landing and Recovery team is performing their final mission certification ahead of Artemis I.

NASA’s Air Operations Co-Lead Don Reed briefs the air ops team during Underway Recovery Test 9 (URT-9) aboard the USS John P. Murtha. During the weeklong test, NASA’s Landing and Recovery team is performing their final mission certification ahead of Artemis I.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley inside, is seen aboard SpaceX’s GO Navigator recovery ship shortly after splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, on Aug. 2, 2020. Behnken and Hurley spent 62 days aboard the International Space Station for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission, becoming the first astronauts to launch to the orbiting laboratory from U.S. soil since the end of the shuttle program in 2011. The final flight test for SpaceX, Demo-2 will pave the way for the agency to certify the company’s transportation system for regular, crewed flights to the orbiting laboratory.

Support teams arrive at the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley onboard, shortly after it splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, on Aug. 2, 2020, for the agency’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission. Behind them is the SpaceX GO Navigator recovery ship, where Crew Dragon was taken for Behnken and Hurley to exit the capsule. The final flight test for SpaceX under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, Demo-2 will pave the way for the agency to certify the company’s transportation system for regular, crewed flights to the orbiting laboratory.

jsc2017e011393 (01/30/2017) --- Space exploration will feature prominently at Super Bowl LIVE, a nine-day fan festival running Jan. 28 through Feb. 5 on Discovery Green, Houston Texas where 100,000 visitors are expected each day. NASA is collaborating with the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee, which is the fan festival organizer, to share NASA’s contributions with the Houston community and to the nation. At NASA's Future Flight, the primary attraction at the free fan festival, riders will take a trip to Mars and back using virtual reality goggles on a 90-foot drop tower ride. Visitors also will get a chance to see several NASA assets that have been transported to downtown Houston for the activities. These assets include: the Orion mockup used for water recovery testing, Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV /Rover), the Driven to Explore mobile exhibit, Mars Science Laboratory – Curiosity Rover - replica, Robonaut 1 (Centaur configuration), EMU space suit presentation unit, Arctic meteorite and astromaterials display, and the Mark III advanced space suit photo-op. Several of NASA’s industry partners sponsoring Future Flight will also have assets on display, and a replica of the James Webb Space Telescope will be located near but not inside the activities on Discovery Green. NASA and industry partner volunteers will be staffing the Future Flight area. NASA PHOTOGRAPHER: Bill Stafford