Artemis astronauts describe lunar voyage as surreal ahead of Earth return

The Artemis II crew are preparing for re-entry (Nasa/AP)

Drawing ever closer to Earth, the Artemis II astronauts tidied up their lunar cruiser for its upcoming “fireball” return and reflected on their historic journey around the Moon, describing it as surreal and profound.

As the next-to-last day of their flight dawned on Thursday, humanity’s first lunar explorers in more than half a century were less than 150,000 miles (240,000 kilometres) from home with the odometer clicking down.