US President Donald Trump spoke briefly with the crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission late Monday, telling them they had “inspired the entire world” after completing a record-breaking journey around the Moon. The call lasted around 12 minutes, during which Trump praised the astronauts for their “courage” and “genius.” He also highlighted that their mission is an important step toward NASA’s goal of sending humans back to the Moon’s surface for the first time in more than 50 years.

“Today, you’ve made history and made all America really proud, incredibly proud,” Trump told the four astronauts. “There’s nothing like what you’re doing – circling around the Moon for the first time in more than a half century and breaking the all-time record for the farthest distance from planet Earth. Humans have really never seen anything quite like it. It’s really special,” Trump said.

“America is a frontier nation, and the four brave astronauts of Artemis II … really are modern-day pioneers,” the president said, adding that the U.S. plans to “push on to Mars” next.

The Artemis II astronauts and mission control have “flipped their mission patches” as the journey back to Earth begins. They turned the special double‑sided patch so it now shows the Moon in front and Earth rising behind it – the opposite of how it was worn on the way out.

During launch and the trip out, the patch showed Earth as dominant, with the Moon on the horizon, signaling that their destination was ahead. Now, with the lunar flyby done and Orion heading home, the crew switched to the “homeward” view, quietly signaling that the most dangerous part of the trip is behind them and the focus is on returning safely.

Mission patches have been a NASA tradition since Gemini and Apollo, but this reversible design, meant to be flipped mid‑mission, is new with Artemis II, not something carried over from the original Moon missions, according to a BBC report.

Astronauts breaks the distance record

Less than an hour before starting the fly-around and lunar observations, the four astronauts broke the distance record of 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) set by Apollo 13 in April 1970. They kept going, moving even farther from Earth, eventually surpassing the old record by 4,101 miles (6,600 kilometers), according to AP.

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A total solar eclipse in space

The astronauts will witness a total solar eclipse. On Earth, total eclipses happen when the Moon’s shadow crosses a narrow strip, turning day briefly into twilight. This time, the Moon’s shadow won’t fall on Earth, but on the Orion spacecraft, the report mentioned.

Orion is positioned so the Moon blocks the Sun, letting the crew see the Sun’s outer atmosphere – the corona – as a shimmering halo around the dark Moon. Cameras are set up at the windows to capture the eclipse, from the first “bite” of the Sun to totality and the delicate “diamond ring” effect when sunlight peeks around the edge.

What makes this even more amazing is what’s nearby. To one side, Earth is visible, a small, glowing globe partly in shadow, with clouds and continents just visible.

Orion reconnecting with Earth

Right on schedule, Orion emerged from behind the Moon and reconnected with Earth. First came the reassuring return of the radio signal, then a burst of data, and finally a clear voice from the capsule. The words themselves were simple, but the relief in Mission Control was huge.

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“Houston, Integrity, comm check,” BBC quoted mission specialist Christina Koch as saying. “It is so great to hear from Earth again.”

Families in the viewing gallery spent the blackout studying notes, trying not to watch the clock. Now that contact is restored, all the data collected will start coming in. Stored telemetry and images from the far side will be sent through NASA’s Deep Space Network for engineers and scientists to review in the coming days.