NASA on Friday announced a significant milestone as its Artemis II mission nears completion following a successful launch on April 1.
The spacecraft has travelled around the Moon and is on course to return to Earth, with splashdown expected in the Pacific Ocean.
The agency shared its anticipation on the social media platform X, expressing excitement at welcoming the crew back after their remarkable journey beyond low Earth orbit.
They’re halfway home.
The Artemis II astronauts have hit the “halfway” mark between the Moon and the Earth. They will splash down in the Pacific Ocean around 8:07 pm ET on Friday, April 10 (0007 UTC on Saturday, April 11), off the coast of San Diego. pic.twitter.com/CQmOuDTVGh
— NASA (@NASA) April 10, 2026
The mission has captured global attention, marking humanity’s return to deep space exploration more than five decades after the Apollo 13 mission.
NASA highlighted that the astronauts travelled farther than any humans in history, reinforcing the mission’s importance for future lunar exploration.
The four-member crew, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, set a new distance record, surpassing the benchmark established during Apollo 13 and reaching over 252,000 miles from Earth at the mission’s peak.
Designed as a 10-day test flight, Artemis II aims to validate the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft in a deep-space environment with astronauts on board.
The mission included a crucial lunar flyby, paving the way for future efforts to return humans to the Moon.
According to Lori Glaze, the achievement underscores NASA’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of exploration.
From orbit, Hansen reflected that the milestone honours past space pioneers while opening a new chapter in human spaceflight.
Artemis II is widely regarded as a vital step towards NASA’s long-term goal of establishing a sustained human presence on the Moon, laying the groundwork for future exploration missions.
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