The Pacific Ocean 50 miles off the San Diego coast is the designated splashdown zone; Naval Base San Diego provides the recovery ship and logistics.Source: NASA / NBC San Diego

Where does San Diego sit geographically?

On the Pacific coast of Southern California at the US-Mexico border; second-largest city in California with ~1.4 million residents.Source: Geographic reference

How will the Artemis II crew be recovered?

A San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship from Naval Base San Diego will retrieve the Orion capsule after Pacific splashdown.Source: NASA recovery plan

Background

San Diego is California's second-largest city, on the Pacific coast at the US-Mexico border, with a city population of approximately 1.4 million and a metropolitan area of 3.3 million. On 10 April 2026 the Orion capsule carrying the Artemis II crew splashed down approximately 50 miles off the San Diego coast, and the crew was recovered aboard USS Murtha, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock operating from Naval Base San Diego.

Naval Base San Diego is the homeport of the US Pacific Fleet and the operational hub for NASA's Artemis ocean recovery operations. The recovery model follows the Apollo-era tradition of Pacific splashdown and US Navy retrieval. San Diego's geographic position, with open Pacific access and proximity to naval and medical infrastructure, makes it the preferred recovery hub for NASA's western splashdown corridor.

Beyond its military role, San Diego is a significant aerospace and defence technology hub, home to General Atomics, Cubic, and a growing commercial space sector. Its naval and industrial infrastructure makes it one of only a handful of US cities capable of hosting the logistics of a crewed spacecraft recovery operation.

How the World Sees Them

Canada

Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashes down off San Diego, marking Canada's first lunar mission crew member; a homecoming followed closely by the Canadian Space Agency.

United States

San Diego's Naval Base is the operational anchor for Pacific spacecraft recovery; the city gains global visibility as the return point for the first crewed lunar mission since 1972.

Local community

San Diego residents expect public viewing events along the coast as Orion approaches; local officials have coordinated with NASA and the Navy on spectator access and maritime safety zones.