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2w ago

Artemis II Heads Home After Record Lunar Flyby, Far-Side Images Released

The crewed Orion test supplies data to shape upcoming Artemis lunar landings.

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NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman is with his late wife Carroll Taylor Wiseman alongside a portion of the Moon coming into view, as seen from the Orion spacecraft on Monday.
Image
The Artemis II crew of NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen pose with their eclipse glasses used to protect their eyes for the Orion spacecraft's flyby of the Moon April 6, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. NASA/Handout via REUTERS

Overview

  • The Orion capsule, which looped around the moon’s far side Monday, is on a free‑return course to a planned splashdown Friday evening in the Pacific near San Diego at about 8:06–8:07 p.m. ET.
  • NASA released hundreds of new views, including Earthset and a near hourlong total solar eclipse, and said the crew captured roughly 175 gigabytes of images and measurements.
  • The four astronauts reached 252,756 miles from Earth, breaking Apollo 13’s distance record by about 4,000 miles, and lost contact for about 40 to 50 minutes while Orion passed behind the moon.
  • Following Monday’s seven‑hour observation window, the crew briefed lunar scientists on features they saw and on brief flashes on the night side that looked like meteoroid strikes, which now need analysis.
  • NASA plans the crew’s first press conference from space Wednesday, and officials say results from life‑support, navigation and manual‑piloting tests will guide Artemis surface missions later this decade.