The United States and the world are watching as the four astronauts aboard the Artemis II mission are expected to return to Earth on Friday evening. Artemis II marks the first crewed mission to travel around the moon in more than 50 years. Friday is the tenth day of their historic voyage around the moon, passing around the far side of the moon and further than humans have ever traveled before. The astronauts are expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of San Diego. Navy crews are already positioned to retrieve the astronauts upon their return and check in on their health. Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland will be hosting a day of activities, speakers, and events on Friday to mark the occasion. The events start at 10 a.m. and will continue throughout the day, including a watch party at the planetarium to tune in for the live broadcast of the splashdown, starting at 3 p.m. The splashdown itself is expected to happen at around 5 p.m. Pacific time. Several NASA employees will be speaking at this event, including Dr. Eugene Tu, who is the director of the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View. “The mission is not done until the crew is back safely aboard the ship, so we are very much looking forward to this,” Tu told NBC Bay Area News. Tu explained that as the Orion capsule enters Earth’s atmosphere, it will face temperatures upwards of 5,000 degrees fareneight. “And so much of the testing for this heat shield and analysis was done right here at NASA Ames at our high-energy wind tunnel facilities, we are very much proud of the work that’s been done,” Tu said. Chabot Space and Science Center Astronomer Gerald McKeegan said he’s been following every detail of the Artemis II Mission, and he’s been particularly interested in seeing the images they captured from their historic trip past the far side of the moon. “The re-entry into the atmosphere is probably the most dangerous part of the mission, and hopefully it will go as well as everything else has gone,” McKeegan said. He noted that Chabot has already gotten lots of interest in their Splashdown watch party, and are expecting crowds. “I think that almost the whole world has been riding along with these four astronauts,” he said. “It’s a chance for all of us to kind of step back from the politics and everything else that is going on in the world and enjoy something that’s really spectacular, and it’s a really great human achievement,” he continued. ...read more read less