NASA said Friday that the Artemis II crew began its final full day in space with two wake-up songs as Orion headed back to Earth: Run to the Water by Live, selected by the astronauts, and Free by Zac Brown Band. Zac Brown also sent a recorded message to Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, praising the crew’s courage and saying people across the country were feeling inspired by their mission.
The agency said the astronauts were 61,326 miles from Earth when the music played and were moving into final re-entry and splashdown preparations. The moment added a music spotlight to one of NASA’s biggest missions in decades. Artemis II launched on April 1 and became the first crewed flight toward the moon since 1972. During the mission, the crew completed a lunar flyby and helped test Orion in deep space before the spacecraft’s planned return to the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.