The Artemis II astronauts are approaching the point where they are closer in space to Earth than they are to the moon – a key point in their return journey signifying that the end of the historic mission is near.
As of Thursday morning (April 9,) the Orion spacecraft carrying the crew still had tens of thousands of miles to go ahead of a planned water landing Friday, April 10, off the California coast. About nine days into their journey, the astronauts – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of NASA, as well as the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen – appeared to be in good spirits while taking questions during a media conference.
And why wouldn't they be?
During their trailblazing journey, the four of them traveled farther from Earth than any spacefarer in human history ever has while seeing sights of the moon's far side that no one else has ever experienced. Now, they’re less than two days away from returning home.
Here's what to know about how far the astronauts are from Earth and the moon, as well as how you can use NASA's official tracker to keep up with their journey.
