Overview
- NASA’s Orion flew past the Moon’s far side and set a new human distance record beyond 400,000 kilometers before heading back toward Earth.
- The figure-eight route used the Moon’s gravity to bend the path without entering lunar orbit, with a closest approach near 7,500 kilometers from the far side.
- NASA released new images from the pass, including an “Earthset,” a total solar eclipse seen from space, and detailed views of the Orientale basin.
- The return leg will end with a blazing atmospheric reentry and a parachute splashdown in the Pacific to test the capsule’s heat shield and recovery systems.
- President Donald Trump called the astronauts to congratulate them, underscoring public focus on the first crewed trip around the Moon since 1972.