The United States and Canada are working closely together on trips to the Moon. The Artemis program was created for this purpose. The project’s first flight was Artemis I, which took place on November 16. This unmanned spacecraft flew to the Moon, circled it several times, and then began its return journey. On December 11, the capsule plunged into the Pacific Ocean after a journey of more than two million kilometers.

At its farthest point, the spacecraft was about 270,000 miles from Earth, about a thousand times farther than the International Space Station, according to NASA. No spacecraft designed for humans has flown this far.

Europa also plays a role in the trip back to the Moon. European countries have developed the part which contains motors, oxygen, water and temperature control. For example, electricity in the spaceship is generated using solar panels from Leiden.