The "Orion" spacecraft has completed its lunar observation period and is now returning to Earth, NASA reported.
The crew of the crewed mission "Artemis-2" is returning to Earth, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reported on the evening of Wednesday, April 6. "At 9:35 PM Eastern Time (03:35 CEST - Ed.), the crew of the Artemis-2 mission completed its lunar observation period and is now beginning the journey back home," the statement said, according to DW.
Astronaut Christina Koch also stated during the NASA broadcast that the Artemis II crew successfully flew around the Moon and set a new record for the longest time a human has spent in space in history. Previously, astronauts traveled 407,000 km away from Earth, breaking the record set during the Apollo 13 mission in 1970.
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>On the shoulders of giants... π§πΌβπ
— NASA (@NASA) April 7, 2026
The Artemis II crew aboard Integrity have officially traveled farther into space than any humans before, passing the record set during Apollo. Our live coverage continues:https://t.co/do2p0Gvxdu
The "Orion" spacecraft launched on April 1 from the east coast of the United States. On board are NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The crew was tasked with flying around the natural satellite of our planet and returning to Earth. Among other things, the mission participants tested new spacesuits capable of providing up to six days of breathing in autonomous mode.
