Artemis II mission’s director talks about recovery operations in San Diego

(NBC, KYMA) - The Artemis II mission will soon launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Four astronauts will be aboard the Orion spacecraft that will orbit the moon over the course of 10 days before it returns to Earth just off the coast of San Diego.

"We're ready, the rocket is ready, we are ready, NASA is ready," said Reid Wiseman, commander of Artemis II.

The crewed Orion capsule is scheduled travel nearly 250,000 miles from earth and approximately 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the moon.

It's a mission that's been years in making, something Lisa Seiler has been part of since the beginning.

"I've been working with the Orion team and our EGS operations team for almost 20 years now and really worked on this program since the spacecraft was on paper," Seiler shared.

While all eyes are on the launch and the 10-day lunar orbit that will follow, there is the splashdown; the final phase of the mission.

"The mission isn't complete until we ensure the safety and the return of the crew back home," Seiler remarked.

Seiler is the Artemis Deputy Landing Recovery Director. She, among 100 NASA and contractor personnel, in addition to military support, is already getting into place for when the Orion spacecraft splashes down some 50 miles off San Diego's coast.

"We deploy from the Naval Base San Diego, approximately three to four days before splashdown. What we do is we position ourselves about what we consider our midway point, and we will be ready at the splashdown location within 24 hours just prior," Seiler explained.

They'll be waiting for "entry interface," which is when the spacecraft and astronauts will re-enter the atmosphere.

"Once we splash down where we allow them to perform those checklists, we establish that calm with them and make sure they're all good," Seiler added.

Once those are complete, a medical team will be the first to make contact with the crew.

"The plan is to get them back over to the North Island Air Station. And they'll have a little bit more medical checkout back there," Seiler spoke.

The years of planning, simulations, and trainings to get here is hard for Seiler to put into words.

"I get very emotional about it...just because of, you know...there are people involved and we understand the sensitivity and their families are counting on us to do everything that we can do to ensure their safety," Seiler expressed.

A message shared by the crew and entire team behind Artemis II.

"We look at our objectives, we're gonna test this capsule, we're gonna lay the groundwork for Artemis III and IV. And we're gonna try to get back safely and land in the Pacific Ocean. That's what matters to us and that's what we should be focused on," said Jeremy Hansen, one of the Artemis II astronauts.

Artemis II is set to launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Wednesday at 6:24 p.m. Eastern.