NASA posts Artemis II Flight Day 7 update as crew begins return to Earth

NASA says the Artemis II crew has begun the return leg to Earth after completing a historic lunar flyby.

In a Flight Day 7 update published on April 7, NASA said the astronauts were awake and preparing for the homeward trip after the April 6 close pass by the Moon. The agency also said the crew was scheduled for a ship-to-ship call with astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

AP and other outlets reported that the mission reached a new human distance-from-Earth record during the flyby, while NASA continued to frame the flight as a key test of Orion and its systems ahead of future lunar missions.

The crew remains in flight, and NASA planned additional mission briefings later the same day. No anomaly was reported in the sources reviewed.

The update marks the transition from the mission’s lunar flyby phase to its return-home phase, keeping Artemis II on track for a multi-day test mission that has already set several milestones.