In April 2026 four people flew around the far side of the Moon and came home. It was the first time humans had left low Earth orbit since 1972.

Artemis II carried Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen on a ten-day loop out and back, launching on 1 April and splashing down in the Pacific on the 10th. They did not land, that is Artemis III's job, but the gap between Apollo 17 in December 1972 and anyone going anywhere near the Moon had run fifty-three years, and it doesn't any more.

Source: NASA Artemis II (opens in a new tab) · checked Aug 2026

🔮 The folklore version: Three Greek moon goddesses

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In April 2026 four people flew around the far side of the Moon and came home. It was the first time humans had left low Earth orbit since 1972.

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In April 2026 four people flew around the far side of the Moon and came home. It was the first time humans had left low Earth orbit since 1972.

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