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Artemis II crew prepares for Earth return with trove of lunar experiences
The four astronauts aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft are set to splash down near San Diego at approximately 20:00 EST Friday (00:00 GMT Saturday), concluding a historic lunar flyby that carried them farther from Earth than any humans before.
Crew reflects on mission highlights from space
During a live press conference from orbit on Wednesday, pilot Victor Glover told reporters the team was eager to share their journey with the world. "We have to get back. There's so much data that you've already seen, but all the good stuff is coming back with us," he said. Glover noted the crew still had "two more days" before they could fully process their experiences, adding, "I'm going to be thinking about and talking about all of these things for the rest of my life."
Record-breaking distance and first human views of the Moon's far side
On Monday, Orion shattered the human spaceflight distance record, reaching 248,655 miles (400,000 km) from Earth-surpassing Apollo 13's 1970 milestone. While the spacecraft did not land on the Moon, it circled its far side, offering the crew the first human glimpse of its rugged craters and lava plains. Satellites had previously photographed the region, but the astronauts became the first to observe parts of it directly.
Following the flyby, former U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated the team in a call, praising their achievement as a historic moment for America.
Moments of solitude and personal milestones
During the mission, the crew experienced 40 minutes of radio silence as Orion passed behind the Moon. Commander Reid Wiseman described the moment as an opportunity for reflection, despite the team's busy scientific schedule. "The four of us took a moment, we shared maple cookies that Jeremy had brought, and we just reflected on where we were," he said.
For Glover, the mission's "greatest gift" was witnessing a lunar eclipse from beyond the Moon's far side. Wiseman, meanwhile, called the naming of a lunar crater after his late wife, Carroll-who died of cancer in 2020-the "pinnacle moment" of the journey. "When Jeremy spelled Carroll's name, I was overwhelmed with emotion," he said, noting that crewmate Christina Koch was moved to tears.
Life in space and the road ahead
The astronauts relied on family updates for news from Earth, with Wiseman joking that their loved ones were "obviously biased" in their accounts. When asked what they would miss most about space, Koch highlighted the camaraderie, while emphasizing that the sacrifices of exploration-such as inconvenience and risk-were "all worth it."
The crew now faces a final challenge: a high-speed re-entry through Earth's atmosphere at nearly 25,000 mph, followed by a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific. The maneuver will test Orion's heat shield and recovery systems before the mission concludes.
