NASA has released images taken by the Artemis II crew during their historic lunar flyby as the four-person team begins the journey back to Earth. The astronauts looped the moon’s far side, endured the expected roughly 40-minute communications blackout, and captured thousands of photos of Earthset and a solar eclipse. They reached a peak distance of more than 252,000 miles from Earth — the farthest any humans have traveled.
Today’s schedule for the crew is intentionally light. Activities include manual flight practice, internal science tasks and systems checks, and time set aside to contact family, rest and regroup for the roughly four-day trip home. Splashdown is planned off the coast of San Diego on Friday.
While passing the lunar far side, the crew observed regions never before seen directly by human eyes. NASA scientists said the astronauts used both photography and direct visual observation, taking images through the left window while making visual notes through the right. Teams plan to compare the photographs with the crew’s verbal descriptions to study how the human eye perceives color and fine detail compared with image data.
As the capsule heads home, mission teams remain focused on reentry preparations. After launch, reentry is considered the mission’s most hazardous phase, so procedures and onboard systems are being closely monitored to ensure a safe return.