Artemis II crew breaks distance record, heads home after moon flyby
Four astronauts on NASA's Artemis II mission flew farther from Earth than any humans in history as they passed around the moon on Monday night. The crew completed their lunar flyby and is now heading back to Earth.
The Artemis II crew made history Monday night when they flew around the far side of the moon, traveling farther from Earth than any human has ever gone. The four astronauts completed their lunar flyby and are now on their way back home.
During their journey, the crew witnessed a solar eclipse and experienced a brief communications blackout while passing behind the moon. President Trump called the space capsule to congratulate the astronauts on their success.
The mission follows a "free-return trajectory," similar to the famous Apollo 13 crew of Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert. This path uses the moon's gravity to bend the flight back toward Earth, where the crew will splash down in the Pacific Ocean.
This is the first crewed lunar mission since the Apollo program ended in the 1970s. The flight is part of Trump's ambitious plan to return astronauts to the moon's surface and eventually send crews to Mars.
This mission marks the first time humans have traveled to the moon in over 50 years. It's a major step toward NASA's goal of landing astronauts on the moon again and eventually sending crews to Mars.
The crew will continue their journey back to Earth for a Pacific Ocean splashdown in the coming days.
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