Are you a human who has spent every day this month obsessing about the four humans currently aboard the Artemis II, taking all kinds of new footage of our planet — and the moon — from deep space? Same. Rejoice then, for a celebration in honor of this heartwarming 10-day mission is happening at Oakland’s Chabot Space & Science Center this Friday, April 10.
Obsessed With the Artemis II Crew? There’s a Party for That in Oakland
Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft’s main cabin windows, looking back at Earth. (NASA/Getty Images)
If you’re not yet on board with all things Artemis II, here are five cool facts to know about the mission so far:
1. Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Jeremy Hansen and Christina Koch are the first people to fly to the moon since 1972.
2. Six days into their mission, the foursome managed to get 248,655 miles away from Earth — the furthest that any astronaut has ever gone before — and doesn’t that just sound really, really nice right now?
3. Their mission is to test the systems on the Orion spacecraft (which is named Integrity) to make sure it’s safe for future flights to the moon. They are also making detailed observations about the surface of the moon, as well as conducting research on the effects of radiation and microgravity on the human body in deep space.
4. As Integrity passed behind the moon, the astronauts lost all contact with Earth for more than 40 minutes. When President Trump called the crew to ask what that period of radio silence was like, Glover replied “I must say, it was actually quite nice.” (Relatable.)
5. Earlier this week, the astronauts received an audio message from Apollo 8 pilot Jim Lovell, who successfully got the catastrophically damaged Apollo 13 home in 1970. The message was relayed posthumously: Lovell died in August 2025. “When Frank Borman, Bill Anders and I orbited the moon on Apollo 8, we got humanity’s first up-close look at the moon and got a view of the home planet that inspired and united people around the world,” Lovell said. “I’m proud to pass that torch on to you … Don’t forget to enjoy the view.” (I’m not crying, you’re crying.)
By far the most emotional moment of Integrity’s journey so far happened on April 6. The astronauts called mission control to request that a bright crater on the moon be named after Wiseman’s late wife Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020 at the age of 46. The footage went viral and, for several hours, the internet basically turned into a ball of mush.
Here’s extremely popular TikTok-er Reb Masel, capturing the mood perfectly:
@rebmaselCarroll, now a bright spot on our Moon, because four people, who traveled farther from Earth than any human has ever been in the 4.5-billion-year history of our planet, loved someone so much, they carried her the whole way there.♬ original sound – reb for the rebrand
The splashdown party at Chabot this Friday is designed to coincide with Artemis II’s return to Earth. The space center will be screening the crew’s arrival off the coast of San Diego, so fans can watch together and celebrate with snacks and drinks. Scientists and engineers from NASA’s Ames Research Center will be in attendance to hang out and answer questions. We suspect most of them will be about Carroll.
The Artemis II Splashdown Party takes place at Chabot Space & Science Center (10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland) on April 10, 2026, 10 a.m—6 p.m.
