As NASA's Artemis II mission approaches its return, the USS John P. Murtha, stationed off the San Diego coast, is set to play a pivotal role in recovering the astronauts. The splashdown is anticipated just after 5 p.m. on Friday in the Pacific Ocean. Sailors aboard the ship have been conducting extensive drills to prepare for the operation. A Navy helicopter squadron will track the Orion capsule during re-entry and transport the astronauts to the ship for medical evaluation. Meanwhile, Navy divers will recover the capsule itself. This mission is significant as it follows the Artemis II crew's record-setting journey, where they traveled farther from Earth than any humans before, surpassing the Apollo 13 record of 248,655 miles. The recovery operation will also gather valuable data to enhance future Artemis missions, honoring the legacy of the ship's namesake, Congressman John P. Murtha.