Shaimaa Khalil
LA Correspondent

Image source, Shaimaa Khalil

The seats and the big screen are all set as space enthusiasts start gathering at the Columbia Memorial Space Centre in Downey, southeast LA for the watch party of the return of the Artemis ll.

One of the space center staff, Jared Head, is taking questions from space enthusiasts, about how long it’ll be for the spacecraft between entering the Earth’s atmosphere and splashdown; how hot the surface will be; and whether the team inside would feel any of the heat.

“The astronauts won’t, the heat shield definitely will,” Mr Head said. Families are here with their children, including a mother who brought her three-month-old baby to “tell him he was here!”

Sara Gomez, 42, brought her two daughters Lexi, 11, and Riley, 8. “This is something that doesn’t happen everyday,” Sara said.

“This is almost miraculous - it’s taken a lot of people , a lot of time and a lot of money - and they can tell their kids when they get older that they experienced it live.”

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor

The astronauts are now wearing their bright orange spacesuits, called the Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS).

These suits are worn to protect the crew during launch and re-entry, and also act as vital protection if there is a problem with the capsule.

The suit is pressurised with inbuilt life-support systems.

The bright colour means the astronauts are easy to spot after landing - and equipped with a flashlight, mirror, whistle and light sticks in case the astronauts need to signal where they are after landing.

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor

After their epic journey, it’s time for the astronauts to come home.

And it will be quite a ride as they plunge through the Earth’s atmosphere.

But this is the first time humans have flown in the Orion capsule, so no-one knows exactly what their experience inside it will be like.

We do know they are coming in much faster and hotter than astronauts returning from the International Space Station.

The team here have calculated the crew will experience about 3.9 Gs, so they’ll feel about 3.9 times heavier than they do on Earth. The sensation is like being pushed back into their seats.

And while temperatures outside are super hot, inside they astronauts should stay comfortable, protected by their heatshield.

Howard Hu, Orion’s programme manager, said he can’t wait to speak to the crew when they return to find out how the re-entry felt.

Image source, Nasa

The journey back to Earth for the Orion crew is a process involving numerous manoeuvres, ultimately culminating in the astronauts splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

Here's a look at the upcoming schedule:

• 19:33 EDT (23:33 GMT): TheOrion crew module will separate from the service module in preparation for its return to Earth's atmosphere

• 19:37 EDT (23:37 GMT): The spacecraft performs a crew module raise burn to set the correct entry angle

• 19:53 EDT (23:53 GMT): Orion will reach 400,000 feet above the Earth's surface and make its first contact with the Earth's upper atmosphere, when a six-minute communications blackout will begin
• 20:03 EDT (Saturday, 00:03 GMT): Drogue parachutes are deployed, slowing down and stabilising the capsule
• 20:04 EDT (Saturday, 00:04 GMT): The drogues will release and the three main parachutes are deployed

• 20:07 EDT (Saturday, 00:07 GMT): The Orion crew splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, where they will be assisted out of the spacecraft by Nasa and US Department of War personnel

• 22:30 EDT (Saturday, 02:30 GMT): A news conference will be held at Nasa's Johnson Space Center in Houston

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor

The Artemis astronauts have travelled further than any humans have ever flown from Earth. They’ve flown a whopping 252,756 miles (406,771km), exceeding Apollo 13’s distance record by more 4,100 miles (6,600 km).

But they won’t break the record for the fastest re-entry through the Earth’s atmosphere. That’s still held by the Apollo 10 crew, who screamed back to Earth at 24,791mph (39,897km/h).

Nasa calculations put the Artemis crew’s re-entry at 24,661mph (39,688km/h) - just 130mph slower. So it’s not record breaking - but still incredibly fast, more than 30 times the speed of sound.

To put this into perspective, astronauts returning home from the International Space Station come in at speeds of about 17,500mph (28,163kmh).

Peter Gillibrand
BBC Newsbeat

Image source, Getty Images

As Nasa's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Centre in Houston prepares for splashdown, we're hearing the vibes are “pretty awesome”.

That's from Antonia Jaramillo, who works for Nasa.

"We are eagerly awaiting them to make sure they return home safely," Jaramillo tells BBC Newsbeat.

She compares the atmosphere to a big sports match.

"It's always going to be a little bit nerve-wracking, but in the best way,” she says.

Jaramillo thinks people will start to relax when the parachutes are deployed in splashdown.

"The big celebrations, that big sigh of relief, the cheering, the whooping, the high fives, the hugs, everything is going to happen once Orion is down on Earth and we have that crew back on land,” she says.

On the significance of the mission, Jaramillo explains: "This is not just for Nasa. Not just for our international partners. Not just for America. But for everyone. For the next generation too, of space explorers."

Joe Coughlan
Live reporter

The Artemis II mission has had no shortage of memorable moments. Not only collecting images never seen before, but also the crew's messages back to Earth.

'Sights no human has ever seen'

The astronauts described the "spectacular" scale of the beauty in space several times, with commander Reid Wiseman telling US President Donald Trump: "We saw sights that no human has ever seen, not even Apollo, and that was amazing for us."

A touching tribute

Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen shared a poignant moment, when he and the crew named one of the Moon's craters after Wiseman's late wife Carroll. He said to mission control: "A number of years ago we started this journey... and we lost a loved one," adding at certain times in future the crater will be seen from Earth.

A space plumber who sleeps like a bat?

Christina Koch became Orion’s self-appointed "space plumber" following issues with the capsule's toilet. She said: "I like to say that [the plunger] is the most important piece of equipment in space."

Koch also drew attention from the rest of the crew for "sleeping like a bat" during the rest periods, according to Wiseman.

‘We love you from the Moon’

Shortly before the crew began their flyby around the far side of the Moon, and a 40-minute break from communications with Nasa, pilot Victor Glover sent out a touching message to those listening from Earth.

"To all of you down there, we love you from the Moon."

Jacob Phillips
Live reporter

Over ten ground-breaking days, the crew of Artemis II have broken a record, seen the far side of the Moon and fallen victim to a broken toilet.

Before the spacecraft splashes down in the Pacific Ocean in the next few hours, here's a moonwalk back through the mission:

First, liftoff.

Artemis II began its journey on 1 April with a dramatic blast off from Florida - watch that moment below:

Day two saw the crew fire the spacecraft's main engine - sending the Orion capsule out of Earth's orbit and on track for the Moon.

Once they were on the right flight path, the four astronauts prepared for a lunar flyby, bracing for 40 minutes of no contact with Earth as they circled behind the Moon.

The history-making moment came on day five of the mission, when the crew were further away from Earth than any human had ever been before.

During their historic moment, the crew photographed its craters, ridges and signs of ancient lava flows.

They also witnessed a solar eclipse as the spacecraft, the Sun and the Moon aligned.

Image source, NASA

The Artemis II crew say they have "many more pictures" and "many more stories" to share with the world as they near their return to Earth.

The four astronauts on board the Orion spacecraft have completed their mission around the Moon and are expected to splash down later.

Speaking from space on their way home, the mission's pilot, Victor Glover, said the crew was eager to share what they have seen.

When asked about their re-entry to Earth two days ago, he said: "We have to get back. There's so much data that you've already seen, but all the good stuff is coming back with us."

He said he would be "thinking about and talking about all of these things for the rest of my life.

"There's so many more pictures, so many more stories."

Joe Coughlan
Live reporter, on Earth

Image source, NASA

Orion is approaching Earth at the end of its ten-day mission to the far side of the Moon.

According to Nasa's real-time tracker,, external the spacecraft just over 20,000 miles (32,186 km) away and hurtling towards its final splashdown destination: the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the United States.

The crew on board have travelled further away from Earth than any human has before.

A lunar flyby and a solar eclipse have been ticked off their mission checklist, and the four astronauts are heading home with new images of the planet in clutch.

Close-ups of the Moon and a breathtaking snap of Earth are among the pictures taken by the crew, who have seen things no other human has ever seen.

In just under three hours, the Orion spacecraft - nicknamed Integrity by the crew - will break through the atmosphere and quite literally splashdown into the Pacific Ocean.

We'll be bringing you every moment in the build-up, and you'll be able to watch their descent back to Earth above.

Stay with us, it’s going to be out of this world. Well, the first bit will be…