Artemis II astronauts are returning back to Earth from the moon after marking a major milestone, breaking all NASA records in history.
Following a precision launch from Kennedy Space Center, the Orion capsule and its four-member crew are currently pushing the boundaries of human deep-space exploration—the trajectory is expected to set a new distance record for human spaceflight.
As reported, the crew has already broken the previous record for the farthest distance humans have traveled into space.
Moreover, the landmark mission served as a significant testbed for NASA’s long-term goals; once the 10-day journey concludes with a Pacific Ocean splashdown, the data gathered will pave the way for a permanent human presence on the Moon and future crewed missions to Mars.
US President Donald Trump also praised the astronauts, stating they have “made history and made all Americans really proud.”
He invited them to the White House after the Artemis II crew broke the record for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth; the previous record of 248,655 miles (400,171 km) from Earth was set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970.
The Orion spacecraft carried its four-member crew, including Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, into orbit, beginning a journey that would push human exploration deeper into space than ever before.
Artemis Mission Control further confirmed that a tiny dot seen during a broadcast from NASA was Venus.
The landmark mission serves as a significant testbed for NASA’s long-term goals; once the 10-day journey concludes with a Pacific Ocean splashdown, the data gathered will pave the way for a permanent human presence on the Moon and future crewed missions to Mars.
Additionally, Orion had made its closest sweep past the Moon, endured its spell of isolation, watched an eclipse in the black and then let lunar gravity bend its path back towards Earth.
Notably, Artemis II is a test flight ahead of more ambitious goals, including landing humans on the Moon for the first time since 1972 and ultimately sending humans to Mars.
