Artemis II leaves lunar sphere of influence and heads home after record flyby
The four-person crew completed a historic seven-hour lunar flyby — the first human orbit of the Moon since 1972 — and set a new record for farthest distance from Earth. Orion has now exited the Moon’s gravitational domain and is on a planned return trajectory, with splashdown scheduled for Friday evening (ET).
Apr 7, 2026, 1:45 PM EDT
Why it matters:
- Artemis II proved humans can travel beyond low Earth orbit again and returned unique observations of the Moon’s far side, a key test for planned crewed landings later this decade.
Driving the news:
- Mission control confirmed Orion has left the Moon's sphere of influence and is en route back to Earth; splashdown is scheduled for Friday at 20:07 ET in the Pacific off San Diego. - The flight launched from Cape Canaveral earlier this week and included roughly 24 hours of checkout around Earth before the four-day transit to lunar vicinity. - The crew encountered and resolved early glitches — a partial one-way communications drop and a blinking toilet-fault light — both fixed in coordination with Houston.
By the numbers:
- Artemis II set a new human-distance record, reaching about 406,771 km (252,756 miles) from Earth, surpassing the Apollo 13 mark. - During the flyby Orion approached as close as roughly 6,545 km (4,067 miles) above the lunar surface. - The mission is a ~10-day flight; the crew spent about seven hours conducting direct observations and photography of the Moon.
The big picture:
- This was the first crewed lunar orbit since Apollo 17 (1972) and functions as a full-dress rehearsal for Artemis missions intended to return astronauts to the surface by the end of the decade. - Images and data from the far side and a solar eclipse seen only from Orion provide new science and operational experience for deep-space missions.
What they're saying:
- "We honor the extraordinary efforts of our predecessors," astronaut Jeremy Hansen said after the distance record, urging future generations to beat it. - Commander Reid Wiseman and crewmates described sights "no human has seen before," and shared an emotional on‑orbit tribute to loved ones and past explorers.
The bottom line:
- Artemis II has completed its primary lunar objectives, set a distance record, and is heading home on schedule — a major milestone for NASA's plan to return humans to the Moon and beyond.