The crew of the manned Artemis II mission is returning to Earth, NASA announced.
“At 9:35 p.m. Eastern Time /3:35 a.m. Bulgarian Time/, the Artemis II crew completed its lunar observation period and is now beginning its return home,“ the statement said.
A few hours ago, the astronauts traveled 250,000 miles (406,700 km) from Earth, breaking the distance record set in 1970.
On April 1, the United States launched a manned spacecraft carrying four astronauts to the Moon, part of the Artemis II mission.
The lunar orbit and return trip will last ten days, with the crew passing within approximately 8,000 km of the lunar surface.