Video Released of the Reentry of the Orion Integrity Spacecraft from the Artemis II Mission

The Artemis II mission concluded on April 11 with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California after launching on April 2. It was the first mission of the new crewed lunar exploration program and the first mission with humans on board to have surpassed low Earth orbit since the Apollo program in the 1970s. NASA is now collecting and analyzing all useful data to prepare for the launch of Artemis III in 2027 and then for Artemis IV (scheduled for early 2028 but which may be postponed until at least mid-2028).

Thanks to the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), we can see one of the most critical moments of the Artemis II mission: the reentry of the Orion Integrity capsule into Earth's atmosphere from the astronauts' perspective. A similar video was released during the Artemis I mission, but this time there were four astronauts onboard the spacecraft.

Now that we know everything went well, with astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch (from NASA), and Jeremy Hansen (from CSA) returning safely and without apparent issues from their several-day mission near the Moon, the involved agencies are releasing a wealth of material for all enthusiasts, including over 12,000 photographs taken by the crew while in space.

The video released by the CSA shows the Orion Integrity capsule of the Artemis II mission during the communication blackout phase caused by the plasma enveloping the structure that prevents data exchange. This type of video is saved locally to be downloaded and distributed later, considering the positive conclusion of the operations and the health of the astronauts.

In the short film, we can see part of the view from the window of the spacecraft, where Earth is now just a few kilometers away, but also the crew and their reaction to this adrenaline-filled moment. In the video, we can see Rise (the zero gravity indicator or ZGI) attached to one of the command consoles.

The view from inside Integrity as recovery forces pop open the hatch…watching the helicopter pass over their shoulders and hearing all the joy, it was as good as it gets. pic.twitter.com/oQTe1niH6h
— Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid), May 8, 2026

The four astronauts, unlike capsules like Crew Dragon, are not positioned side by side but in two rows, so while one member's face is visible, the boots of another can be seen in the upper area. The footage also shows the moment the parachutes open and the sense of satisfaction for completing the mission and returning home. U.S. astronaut Reid Wiseman (commander of this mission) also released a video showing the moment of hatch opening by the recovery teams after the splashdown, making the end of the Artemis II mission even more exciting.