The Orion spacecraft has left its distant lunar orbit and is beginning its journey back to Earth, according to NASA.
Orion fired its engine on Thursday to propel it out of its distant lunar orbit. According to the US space agency, this burn is one of two maneuvers required before the spacecraft splashdown in the Pacific on December 11.
The second maneuver will take place on December 5, when this spacecraft will fly over the surface of the Moon at 126.7km and perform another flyby burn that will allow it to head towards Earth.
Orion was launched aboard the SLS rocket on November 16 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as part of the Artemis I flight test. It is an uncrewed mission around the Moon that will pave the way a crewed flight test and future human lunar exploration as part of the Artemis lunar program.