Artemis II Astronauts Complete Lunar Flyby and Prepare for Earth Return

The Artemis II crew is returning to Earth after completing a lunar flyby mission that took them farther from the planet than any humans since the Apollo program. The four astronauts—Reid Wiseman as commander, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency—spent Wednesday conducting final tests aboard the Orion spacecraft. m.

ET off the Southern California coast near San Diego. The mission launched on September 29, 2024, and involved a loop around the moon without landing. The crew manually piloted the Orion capsule to test precise maneuvering capabilities needed for future dockings with lunar landers.

Flight controllers reviewed the re-entry timeline, while Navy recovery crews prepared for the splashdown site. Scientists at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston analyzed thousands of photographs taken by the crew during their pass over the moon's far side on Monday.

The images, along with video and audio descriptions, captured daylight views of large areas of the far side for the first time by humans.

Previous Apollo missions from 1968 to 1972 observed the far side in shadow during near-side illuminated flights. The mission proceeded without major issues, though a minor anomaly occurred with the spacecraft's toilet system, which had difficulty dumping liquid waste. The crew held a news conference late Wednesday to discuss the flight.

During the mission, the astronauts witnessed a solar eclipse and spoke with President Trump, who praised their achievement, according to The New York Times. This flight represents NASA's first piloted lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972. The Artemis program aims to establish a sustainable presence on the moon, with Artemis III planned to include a landing.

The observations from Artemis II provide data on the moon's far side that could enhance understanding of its geological evolution.