Four astronauts are currently on their way back to Earth, fresh off a record-breaking trip around the Moon. And if their stories and photos are anything to go by, they had quite the adventure. We're talking about the kind of adventure that makes seasoned scientists audibly squeal.
The crew — Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Canada's Jeremy Hansen — didn't just orbit our celestial neighbor. They captured an "Earthset" photo, a stunning homage to the iconic "Earthrise" shot from Apollo 8 in 1968. This new image shows our delicate, watery blue marble dipping below the Moon's harsh, curved horizon, swallowed by the inky blackness of space. It's a view that makes you feel both tiny and incredibly lucky.
After their lunar flyby, the crew connected with lunar scientists in Houston, sharing nearly seven hours of observations. Kelsey Young, the lead lunar scientist for Artemis II, confirmed that the science community was, shall we say, enthusiastic about the data. She later admitted there were "audible screams of delight" in NASA's Science Evaluation Room as the astronauts recounted what they saw.
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And what did they see? The Moon's surface in exquisite detail, a solar eclipse where the Moon passed directly in front of the Sun, and even flashes of light that turned out to be meteor strikes on the lunar surface. Victor Glover, one of the astronauts, noted that it's hard to describe such sights, suggesting humans probably haven't evolved to fully process that level of cosmic spectacle. Which, if you think about it, is both impressive and slightly terrifying.
Breaking Records and Taking Calls
This isn't just a scenic tour. The Artemis II team shattered the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970, traveling an astonishing 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth. That's over 4,000 miles further than any human has ever been. Let that satisfying number sink in.
The crew also represents some significant firsts: Victor Glover is the first person of color to fly around the Moon, Christina Koch is the first woman, and Jeremy Hansen is the first non-American. Talk about making history.
They even managed a chat with astronauts on the International Space Station and, perhaps even more remarkably, received a call from NASA administrator Jared Isaacman and former US President Donald Trump. Trump, who remembers the original Apollo program, was reportedly very impressed, calling them "modern-day pioneers" with "a lot of courage." He even experienced a brief signal problem during the call, waiting a full minute when the astronauts seemed not to hear him. He later quipped they "might have gotten cut off" because it's "a long distance." Because apparently that's where we are now: the President of the United States experiencing spotty cell service from orbit.
The Orion capsule is now on a "free-return trajectory" back to Earth, expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off California late Friday. The recovery ship is already en route. Soon, the screaming scientists will have their data, and the astronauts will be back on solid ground, presumably telling stories that will make dinner parties go quiet for years to come.
