Monday, April 6, was Flight Day 6 for the Artemis 2 mission. In many ways it was the mission's climax, containing the lunar flyby, the closest approach to the Moon, and the literal turning point as the crew is now headed back to Earth.

Artemis II’s crew sent a heartfelt Easter message to the world as they approached the moon Sunday — a remarkable echo of a Christmas address given by the mission’s closest cousin in space history, Apollo 8.

Like Apollo 8 in 1968, NASA's Artemis 2 mission from Florida will send a crew of astronauts around the moon and back without landing.

The crew surpassed the Apollo 13 record of 248,655 miles set in 1970 shortly before beginning their flyby of the moon in the Orion spacecraft. Before breaking the record, the crew received a special message that Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell recorded for the mission before his passing in 2025.

On Wednesday, two days after their moon flyby, the crew of the Artemis II mission settled in for a day of preparation to return to Earth.

The newest Artemis II photos from their historic moon mission have scientists at Chicago's Adler Planetarium over the moon.

More breathtaking images released over the weekend from NASA's Artemis II mission show both the moon and Earth in all its cosmic glory. Take a look.