The Artemis II astronauts are heading back to Earth after completing a record-breaking lunar flyby and witnessing an "unreal" solar eclipse from their spacecraft.

Axar.az informs that the four astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission—Commander Reid Wiseman (USA), Pilot Victor Glover (USA), Mission Specialist Christina Koch (USA), and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (Canada)—are currently on a 10-day lunar flyby.

Farther than any human has ever traveled

The Artemis II crew has set a new historic record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth, reaching 252,756 miles during their lunar mission. This surpasses the previous record of 248,655 miles set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970 by more than 4,000 miles. Flying aboard the Orion spacecraft, the four astronauts ventured deeper into space than any humans before them, marking a major milestone in modern space exploration.

Seeing sights no human has ever seen

The Artemis II astronauts also became the first humans to observe previously unseen portions of the Moon’s far side with the naked eye, offering a perspective even Apollo crews never experienced due to different flight paths and timing. During their closest approach—about 4,067 miles from the lunar surface—the crew aboard the Orion spacecraft witnessed terrain invisible from Earth, describing the view as “indescribable” and “surreal.” Commander Reid Wiseman said the sights defied language, while pilot Victor Glover called the experience “truly hard to describe,” noting that what they were seeing felt beyond human comprehension.

“Unreal” eclipse witnessed from space

The Artemis II crew experienced a rare total solar eclipse from their spacecraft as the Orion capsule, the Moon, and the Sun aligned during the mission. For about an hour, the astronauts observed the Sun completely obscured by a darkened Moon while passing behind it, offering a unique vantage point to study the solar corona. The crew spent the time capturing photographs and relaying observations to the science team in Houston, describing the scene as “surreal” and beyond words. Astronaut Victor Glover said the phenomenon “just looks unreal,” highlighting the extraordinary nature of the moment witnessed far from Earth.

Call from the President Trump

US President Donald Trump spoke live with the Artemis II crew late Monday night to congratulate them on their historic lunar flyby, praising the astronauts as “modern-day pioneers” and saying their mission had “inspired the entire world.” During the roughly 12-minute call, Trump commended their courage and ingenuity, noting that humans had “never really seen anything quite like” what they were doing in a manned spacecraft.

“Today you’ve made history and made all America really proud, incredibly proud. We have a lot of things to be proud of lately, but this is, there’s nothing like what you’re doing,” Trump said.

Back to Earth

After completing its historic lunar flyby, the Artemis II spacecraft has begun its journey back to Earth. The Orion capsule is scheduled to splash down off the California coast near San Diego just after 8 p.m. EDT on Friday (4 a.m. on Saturday Baku time), marking the conclusion of the mission’s groundbreaking journey around the Moon.

From Apollo to Artemis

Since the dawn of space exploration, humanity has launched over 130 missions to the Moon, including flybys, orbiters, landers, and sample-return missions. Among these, crewed missions were conducted only by NASA’s Apollo program between 1968 and 1972, with nine missions traveling beyond Earth orbit and six landing astronauts on the lunar surface. Since Apollo 17 in 1972, no humans have returned to the Moon, making Artemis II historic as the first crewed lunar flyby in over 50 years.