Live: NASA Artemis II moon mission updates as Orion crew prepares for splashdown

From USA TODAY.

The Artemis II astronauts are getting closer and closer to returning home.

It’s been a busy week so far for the mission, which serves as the first human spaceflight toward the moon since NASA’s Apollo era came to an end in 1972.

After launching April 1 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the astronauts finally swung around the moon April 6, seeing sights of the lunar far side that no human had ever laid eyes upon. While the following day − their first day traveling back to Earth – was largely a day off for the astronauts, NASA had a massive photo dump of some of the stellar imagery the crew members captured during their incredible lunar rendezvous.

Follow Artemis II tracker: https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2026/04/02/nasa-artemis-ii-tracker-location/89407838007/

🎥: NASA

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