The UK base that's part of the Artemis II mission
- Published
The Artemis II crew aim to touchdown back on Friday 10 April, after successfully travelling around the Moon.
The Orion spacecraft has travelled more than 250,000 miles from Earth - a new record for the furthest distance humans have ever travelled into space.
The world has been watching the ground-breaking mission closely, but did you know that a UK space base has been keeping an extra close eye on the crew?
That's right, a research centre called Goonhilly Earth Station, in Cornwall, has been helping Nasa to track the astronauts as they travel through space.
Find out more below...
First pictures by Artemis II crew of far side of Moon
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Artemis II astronauts heading back to Earth after flying around the Moon
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What happens next on the Artemis II mission?
- Published2 April
What does the Goonhilly Earth Station do?
Pupils at a school near Goonhilly made and tested their own rockets in the lead-up to the Artemis II launch
Goonhilly has played an important, historic role in helping to develop mass communication with the world.
Its first giant satellite dish was built in 1962, and was called Arthur. It helped to bring television from around the world to the UK.
In 1969, Arthur helped to broadcast the Apollo 11 Moon landing and Neil Armstrong's first steps on the Moon to an audience of around 600 million people.
Did you know? The research station even earned a Blue Peter Badge in 1985!
From 2014 onwards, the station shifted to focus more on space communication.
It has helped out on around 20 lunar missions - including the Artemis II mission - using its biggest satellite dish, nicknamed Merlin, which is 32 metres wide.
The chief technology officer at Goonhilly Earth Station, Matthew Cosby, said Nasa would compare the data his team had collected and studied, with that captured by its own stations.
"It's like going back to school, we're in an exam at the moment to show how capable the team is with all the procedures and how good the technology is that we've built in Cornwall." he said
If the Goonhilly scientists prove successful, Cosby said they would then be able to support future Artemis missions.
He said: "Future Artemis missions will see people return to the Moon and actually walk around the surface of the Moon, which will be a fantastic moment."
Tim Peake: 'UK can be proud'
Major Tim Peake is a former British Astronaut who lived on the International Space Station back in 2015.
who went to the ISS in 2016, said: "We can be very proud in the UK that we are part of this Artemis mission."
"The UK and Europe are right there on Artemis II, we were there on Artemis I, in terms of we built the European service module which powers the Orion spacecraft that provides all the electrical power, the life support systems, the propellant.
"So Europe is heavily involved in the Artemis programme and in return for our involvement, at some point, yes, we will get a European astronaut as part of that mission."
Major Peake said he hopes the mission can inspire young people in the UK to consider a career related to space.
"It's really important I think that young people in the UK, across Europe, they're able to look at these programmes and think: I could be involved in that"