Artemis II astronauts are returning to Earth after making history with a record-breaking lunar flyby
By Bulelwa Hoala
Four astronauts from NASA’s Artemis II crew are heading back home after a record-breaking lunar flyby that saw them travel behind the moon on Monday, 6 April 2026.
Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen spent 10 days aboard the Orion spacecraft and made history by flying the furthest distance any human has ever travelled, over 400 000 km from Earth. This broke the previous record set by Apollo 13 in 1970.
The crew lost contact with Earth for around 40 minutes as they circled and passed behind the moon, giving them a view of parts of the lunar surface never seen by human eyes. They also witnessed a total solar eclipse, with the moon blocking out the sun’s light.
In a special call, American president Donald Trump congratulated the crew for their historic achievement.
“You’ve really inspired the entire world. Everybody is watching, they find it incredible. You went to the far side of the moon, and people haven’t been there in a long time. But it’s going to be more and more prevalent because we’re going to be doing a lot of travelling, and then you’re going to ultimately do the big trip to Mars. That’s going to be very exciting,” Trump said.
The moon’s hidden side
On Point of View, Phemelo Motene spoke to Dr. Carla Mitchell, Director of Africa2Moon Mission, who highlighted that many people don’t realise the moon doesn’t rotate, meaning we never see its far side from Earth.
Mitchell also explained the significance of the Artemis II mission.
“There are a number of reasons this mission is significant. It’s an enormous challenge that NASA has overcome, sending humans around the moon. It’s been over 50 years since a human last went near the moon, so this reignites the adventure and excitement around space. The moon is a logical next step if we want to travel to other planets and conduct more research. Many countries are looking at establishing lunar bases, including NASA and the Chinese international lunar research station. This is a major first step.”
Africa’s role in lunar exploration
Dr. Mitchell also shared what Africa is contributing to lunar exploration.
“This is an exciting time for Africa. We’re not sending humans to the moon just yet, but we are sending Moonballs, small radio astronomy antennas, as technology demonstrators for future missions. They’ll reach the lunar surface in 2029 and will form the first radio astronomy array on the moon built and designed by Africans. This is a step forward for African space science, a field where we can excel and perhaps even lead. It’s the first time African science will conduct experiments directly on the lunar surface.”
Listen to the full conversation on the podcast.
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