Join a free watch party celebrating Artemis II’s Pacific Ocean splashdown

For space fans in Southern California, the return of Artemis II has taken on a lovely local dimension: The spacecraft, which launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1, is expected to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego just a bit after 5 p.m. on Friday, April 10.

True, that isn’t “local” to Los Angeles in the strictest sense of the word, but with the world watching the moon-major mission, the idea that the Orion spacecraft will make a splash just off the coast of California has a thrilling sound.

While a few sky-watching, feed-watching, splashdown-celebratory events are brewing in San Diego, the closest city to the expected splashdown spot, you can find other Artemis II aficionados in Los Angeles at the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey.

Admission to the museum is free April 10, and the splashdown will be broadcast on a large screen, with a science educator nearby to explain everything that is taking place. The splashdown is expected to occur just after 5 p.m. California time but do arrive by 4 p.m. when the event begins.

An “Astronomy Night” event will happen soon after the splashdown, with activities dotting the museum from 7 to 9 o’clock.

If the next day, April 11, still finds you in the space-obsessed zone, a zone where so many earthlings are now existing, look to Griffith Observatory for an afternoon of free events and diversions honoring the “first human spaceflight” and the legacy of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

A ticketed evening happening will follow, with special guests in attendance.

Updated April 9