NASA’s Artemis II crew are on their way back to Earth on Tuesday, April 8, 2026, following the successful completion of a historic crewed lunar flyby — the first time humans have journeyed beyond low Earth orbit since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.
A New Distance Record
The Artemis II crew — Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — set a new spaceflight distance record of 252,756 miles from Earth during their lunar flyby. This surpasses the previous record set by Apollo 13 in April 1970 by more than 4,000 miles.
Historic Significance
The mission marks humanity’s return to deep space for the first time in over five decades. While Artemis II did not land on the Moon — that milestone is reserved for the Artemis III mission — the crewed lunar flyby has validated NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and the life support systems that will be needed for future lunar surface missions.
Splashdown
The Orion capsule is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, California on Thursday, April 10, 2026. US Navy recovery teams are already positioned in the area ahead of the crew’s return.
The Road to Artemis III
The success of Artemis II sets the stage for Artemis III, which will see the first woman and first person of colour set foot on the lunar surface — a landmark moment in space exploration history.
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