Four astronauts traveling back to Earth from the far side of the moon ⁠on ⁠NASA's Artemis II mission spoke of their emotions as they ⁠wrapped up the unprecedented flight and prepared to re-enter the atmosphere in a "fireball",

NASA mission managers hold a briefing as the crew prepares for tomorrow night's scheduled splashdown. The Artemis II team is finishing a historic 10-day lunar journey, marking the first time humans have seen the Moon up close since 1972.

The mission is seen as a key step toward resuming crewed lunar landings. Artemis II’s four astronauts are scheduled to land in the waters off Southern California on Friday.

Friday (April 10) marks the final day of the Artemis II moon mission, with the four astronauts onboard scheduled for splashdown off California.

The four Artemis II astronauts and their Orion spacecraft are set to splash down in the Pacific Ocean after a 10-day mission looping around the moon.

The Artemis II astronauts are expected to arrive back on Friday from their historic mission. The launch marked NASA's first crewed mission around the moon in more than 50 years. NASA astronauts

The four Artemis II astronauts who looped around the Moon this week are expected to splash down soon. NASA’s grand mission spells a return to human deep-space travel, with renewed interest in building a long-term Moon base.

After becoming the first humans in more than 50 years to fly around the moon, the four Artemis II astronauts face the final major challenge of their mission with their return to Earth. "I've actually