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How the Artemis crew will splash down on Earth

The four astronauts on board the Orion spacecraft have completed their mission around the Moon and are expected to splash down off the coast of San Diego at 20:07 eastern US time on Friday (01:07 BST on Saturday).

The splashdown sequence, beginning with the separation of the European Service Module, takes roughly 42 minutes to complete.

The re-entry and subsequent splashdown are considered the most dangerous part of the Artemis II mission, with the Orion capsule enduring temperatures of nearly 2,760C — about half as hot as the Sun.

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A rocket blasting off in a cloud of smoke

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Astronauts in the Artemis rocket

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Two astronauts sitting in a dark spacecraft are visible among control systems.

First live view of Artemis II crew since arriving in space

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The view from a commercial flight of the Artemis II mission spacecraft in the sky during blast off.

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Becky Morelle watches the launch.

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A BBC journalist speaks to camera in a black top, with the a spacecraft in position on the ground on the right.

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We see an astronaut training in a mission simulator.

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