Artemis II returns LIVE: NASA prepares for Artemis II crew's perilous return to Earth at record-breaking speeds

Artemis II — The Movie?

During the same in-flight news conference, the astronauts were also asked who they would want to play them in a movie.

"We've thought a little about the movie, and I think that's way out of our pay grade," Reid Wiseman said. "But one thing we do know for sure is that this guy [pointing at Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen] is gonna be played by Buzz Lightyear. 100%. No doubt."

I can see the likeness. But Wiseman knows Buzz Lightyear isn't a real guy, right? Or what are they hiding from us?

The crew's final reflections on their mission

While we can't exactly give you the inside story on the contents of the crews' dreams right now, we can at least tell you some of their reflections upon their historic journey before they went to bed.

When asked what they would tell their younger selves about what they're doing right now, Christina Koch recalled a family vacation she took to Kennedy Space Centre at age 10.

"If I could have told that little girl who took home a picture of Earthrise, and hung it in her room, that she would eventually launch from that same place, to see that same view, I'm pretty sure she would not believe it," Koch said. "But even though I still can't believe it, and she certainly wouldn't believe it, she chased that dream, and it ended up happening."

"It's such an honour to hear that we've inspired, that's truly one of the top things we ever wanted to do," she concluded.

What are the Artemis II astronauts doing right now?

The Artemis II crew are currently taking some much needed sleep before a very busy day returning to Earth, and will be set to wake up in a couple of hours time.

Here's today's full schedule (in EDT) taken from NASA's website:

3:05 a.m.: Crew sleep begins

11:35 a.m.: Flight Day 10 crew wakeup

1:50 p.m.: Orion cabin configuration for re-entry begins

2:53 p.m.: Return trajectory correction burn

6:30 p.m.: NASA+ coverage begins

7:33 p.m.: Crew module and service module separation

7:37 p.m.: Crew module raise burn

7:53 p.m.: Entry interface

8:07 p.m.: Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean

10:30 p.m.: Post-splashdown news conference at NASA Johnson Space Center

Ben Turner

What time is splashdown?

NASA is expecting the Artemis II crew to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean just off San Diego at 8:07 p.m. EDT. The space agency and the U.S. Navy will be waiting for them with a recovery ship.

NASA's live coverage of the crew's return to Earth will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT.

Patrick Pester

So what about the parachutes?

The heat shield's durability is certainly the big question today, but what about those parachutes Ben just mentioned?

The Orion spacecraft is fitted with 11 total parachutes, all deployed in a very specific sequence to slow, stabilize and safely lower the capsule into the ocean. They includes three forward bay cover parachutes, two drogue parachutes, three pilot parachutes and three main parachutes.

The most iconic of these are the three main parachutes, which span 116 feet (35 meters) in diameter, weigh 300 pounds (136 kilograms) and consist of 10,000 square feet of fabric each.

Reentry will see the crew enter into a six-minute radio blackout caused by a buildup of superhot plasma surrounding the capsule. After this, NASA will first deploy the two drogue parachutes at an alitude of around 6.7 kilometers (22,000 feet). Then, at around 1.8 km (6,000 ft), the three main chutes will be released, slowing the Orion capsule to a leisurely 20 mile per hour (32 kilometers per hour) descent to splashdown.

Kenna Hughes-Castleberry

Feeling the heat

The speed at which the Artemis II crew will return to Earth is set to be record-breaking — hitting the top of the atmosphere at around 25,000 miles per hour (40,000 kilometers per hour).

To dissipate all that energy and arrive at a much more reasonable 20 mph (32 kph) splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, the Orion capsule will use two key pieces of technology: parachutes and a heat shield.

Artemis II's heat shield is designed to protect the crew and slow their capsule by heating up to temperatures of around 2,800 degrees Celsius (5,000 degrees Fahrenheit). Yet it has a problem: It is almost exactly the same as Artemis I's heat shield, and that infamously cracked upon reentry.

That will make this coming stage of the mission among the most dangerous.

But while they have confessed to harboring "irrational" doubts, NASA officials have said they're not worried. Why? Check out Patrick's story here for the full answer.

What goes up

Good morning, science fans! We're back to cover the nail-biting final stage of the Artemis II mission, which has seen a four-astronaut crew embark on a 685,000-mile (1.1 million kilometers) 10-day journey around the moon and back.

The crew — consisting of commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — have captivated millions around the world with their voyage, beaming back stunning images, scientific insights, laughter and some tears as they made history and laid the groundwork for humanity's return to the moon.

Now all they have to do is return home safely.

With their reentry at record-breaking speeds through Earth's atmosphere just hours away, Live Science will be following every moment of this perilous finale to their journey, bringing you breaking updates and expert commentary. Let's see them home.

Ben Turner