Artemis II: How NASA’s Moon Mission Returns to Earth
From NASA's Curious Universe by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
April 2, 2026 · 26 min · Season 11 · Episode 7
About this episode
Lili Villarreal discusses the recovery and landing operations for NASA's Artemis II mission.
Liftoff! NASA’s Artemis II mission launched on April 1, 2026, carrying four Moonbound astronauts. After an approximately 10-day mission, Artemis II ends with a splash. Lili Villarreal, the recovery and landing director for Artemis II, leads the team that will bring home the astronauts and their spacecraft. She describes the recovery playbook, which includes many contingency plans, and the rehearsals that have prepared her team for the mission. For Artemis II news and the latest launch information, visit nasa.gov/artemis-ii
People in this episode
Guest: Lili Villarreal
Topics covered
- Artemis II
- Moon mission
- spacecraft recovery
- NASA
- astronauts
- splashdown
Keywords
- Artemis II
- NASA
- moon mission
- splashdown
- astronaut recovery
- spacecraft
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: NASA
More episodes of NASA's Curious Universe
- Meet the Artemis III Crew · June 12, 2026 · 52 min
- Catching Up With Perseverance on Mars · June 2, 2026 · 40 min
- Bonus: Behind the Scenes of Artemis II with NASA Experts · May 2, 2026 · 31 min
- Update: Artemis II Crew Comes Home · April 15, 2026 · 16 min
- Update: Artemis II Crew Flies Around the Moon · April 8, 2026 · 40 min
- Artemis II: The Ground Teams Powering NASA's Moon Mission · February 17, 2026 · 33 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the NASA's Curious Universe podcast page.