The moon is nearly 270,000 miles away from Earth and soon it will be returning to Earth. The return flyby of the moon is scheduled for December 5th.

There are contents.

  • What to expect from the flyby
  • How to watch the flyby

NASA's Artemis I mission return trip.

If you want to follow along at home, NASA will broadcast coverage of the flyby. Check out our guide for more information on how to watch the flyby.

What to expect from the flyby

Orion captured imagery of the Earth and Moon together from its distant lunar orbit.
NASA’s uncrewed Orion spacecraft reached a maximum distance of nearly 270,000 miles from Earth during the Artemis I flight test before beginning its journey back toward Earth. Orion captured imagery of the Earth and Moon together from its distant lunar orbit, including this image on Nov. 28, 2022, taken from a camera on one of the spacecraft’s solar array wings. NASA

The moon has been in a retrograde position for a week. It is making half a circle around the moon before returning to Earth. After making a close flyby of the moon last month, it will pass by the moon again on its way back.

To get to a position where it can harness the moon's gravity, it needs to fire its engines. Images of the moon and of the approaching Earth can be seen from the fly by.

How to watch the flyby

The return flyby of the moon will be live-streamed by NASA and you can watch the NASA TV channel either by heading to NASA's website or using the video embedded at the top of this page.

The coverage will start at 9 a.m. 6:30 a.m.) There will be a show on Monday, December 5th. The return flyby is scheduled to take place at 11:30 a.m. The time is 8:44 a.m.. There is a time and a place. It is around this time that Orion will make its closest approach to the moon, travelling within 81 miles of the moon's surface.

After it makes the return flyby, it will travel away from the moon and towards Earth. It will land off the coast of San Diego on December 11th. NASA TV will show live coverage of the splash down.

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