(Gray News) – The crew of the Artemis II mission is homeward bound, following their record-breaking journey around the moon.
On Wednesday, NASA released more images from the mission, including a group photo and a breathtaking new image of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
“Sky full of stars,” NASA said on X. “Following a successful lunar flyby, the Artemis II astronauts captured this breathtaking photo of our galaxy, the Milky Way, on April 7, 2026.”
On Wednesday, NASA released more images from the mission, including a group photo and a breath-taking new image of our galaxy, the Milky Way.(NASA)
NASA describes the Milky Way as a spiral galaxy with “two arms wrapping off the ends of a central bar of stars.” It is 100,000 light years across and contains 100 billion stars and one black hole at its core.
Our solar system can be found in a small “partial arm” called the Orion Arm, or Orion Spur.
The astronauts took questions from space during a press conference on the eighth day of their mission as they raced back to Earth.
The crew’s anticipated return is in less than 48 hours. They are scheduled to splash down Friday evening off the coast of San Diego.
Recovery teams will pick up the crew by helicopter and take them to the USS John P. Murtha, where they will undergo medical evaluations before traveling back to shore.
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