APTOPIX NASA Artemis Moonshot

With NASA's lunar comeback a galactic-sized smash, the space agency already has the next Artemis flight in its sights. In a mission recently tacked on for next year, Artemis III’s yet-to-be -named crew will practice docking their Orion capsule with a lunar lander in orbit around Earth. Then it will be on to Artemis IV's astronaut moon landing in 2028. NASA threw a Texas-sized welcome home party in Houston on Saturday for the four Artemis II astronauts who flew around the moon last week. The three Americans and one Canadian returned to Earth on Friday to close out humanity's first lunar voyage in more than a half-century.

The Artemis II astronauts who ignited a lunar renaissance are giving high marks to their moonship for its performance during reentry — especially the heat shield. They held their first news conference Thursday since returning to Earth. Speaking from Houston, the three Americans and one Canadian said their lunar flyby puts NASA in a better position to land a crew on the moon in just two years and set up an eventual moon base. The first lunar crew in more than a half-century launched April 1 and became the most distant travelers ever from Earth as they whipped around the moon's far side.