NASA's Artemis-1 capsule bound for Earth after historic lunar flyby

NASA's Orion space capsule is heading back to Earth after a lunar approach that saw it come within 130 kilometres of the Moon's surface.

The spacecraft fired its thrusters Monday for a big engine “flyby burn” – a 3.5 minute manoeuvre designed to change its velocity and set the capsule on course for its flight home.

NASA said the lunar flyby came a week after Orion reached its farthest point in space, nearly 270,000 miles from Earth while midway through its 25-day mission.

The unmanned capsule Orion, part of NASA's Artemis programme, swung round the Moon and back as part of a six-week demonstration mission.

Lunar ambitions

The Artemis project aims to put a crew capsule into orbit around the Moon – a major milestone in NASA's quest to put astronauts back on the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo programme ended 50 years ago.

It also seeks to establish a long-term lunar colony as a stepping stone to even more ambitious future voyages sending humans to Mars.

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Artemis is named after the goddess who was Apollo's twin sister in ancient Greek mythology.

Orion is due to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday.

If all goes well, a crewed Artemis II flight around the moon and back could come as early as 2024.

That would be followed within a few years by the program's first lunar landing of astronauts with Artemis III.