NASA’s Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight around the moon in more than 50 years, has been a feast for the eyes. See the stunning images from the mission.

Artemis 2's Orion capsule will hit Earth's atmosphere at nearly 24,000 mph on April 10. A heat shield and 11 parachutes will help it survive the fiery trip and splash down safely.

Over the past eight days, the world has watched four intrepid explorers leave Earth, fly around the Moon, and make spaceflight history. The moments of reverence, camaraderie, and bravery we’ve witnessed since the launch of NASA’s Artemis 2 mission have done wonders for my faith in humanity, but sadly, all good things must come to an end.

HOUSTON—The Artemis II astronauts returned from a nine-day flight test of NASA’s deep-space Orion capsule on April 10, marking the first crewed flight beyond Earth orbit in more than 50 years and setting the stage for a series of missions to establish a base on the Moon.

Orion’s crew module has separated from the service module that propelled and steered Orion during the mission to the moon. NBC News’ Tom Costello explains.

Nine days after launching from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to set off on a historic flyby around the moon, the four astronauts who are part of the Artemis II mission are set to splash down on Friday,