After milestone-rich lunar flyby, astronauts start trip home

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HOUSTON: The Artemis II mission has entered its final phase as the four-person crew officially began their journey back to Earth following a historic lunar flyby on April 6.

This milestone marks the first time humans have reached the vicinity of the Moon in over half a century, successfully testing the Orion spacecraft’s systems for deep-space travel. 

During the encounter, the crew of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, alongside CSA’s Jeremy Hansen surpassed the distance record set by Apollo 13, reaching a peak of 252,756 miles from Earth.

The mission utilized a free-return trajectory, using the Moon’s gravity to naturally whip the capsule back toward our home planet. As the spacecraft emerged from behind the lunar far side, the crew captured high-definition imagery of the surface and a stunning ‘Earthrise.’

 Now on a three-day trek through the void, the Orion is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10. This successful flyby serves as the ultimate validation of NASA’s hardware before the upcoming Artemis III mission attempts a crewed landing at the lunar South Pole.

Photo Credits: AFP