Amid what some call a new space race, the historic journey around the moon tested a spacecraft that had never before been flown by crew and collected data for future lunar ventures.

The Artemis program was officially named and announced by NASA in May 2019, when Artemis III was intended to land “the first woman and next man” on the lunar South Pole in 2024. Since then, the uncrewed Artemis I test flight launched in 2022, and Artemis II is complete.

The four astronauts made an emotional return to Houston a day after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at the end of their 10-day lunar journey.

They were flying a spacecraft that had never carried crew before and entering the atmosphere on a trajectory that had never been attempted before, protected by a heat shield that had caused engineers worry ever since the flight of Artemis I in 2022.

The Artemis II crew splashed down April 10 after a record-breaking moon voyage, setting the stage for America's future crewed lunar missions.

When the Orion capsule splashed into the Pacific Ocean after Artemis I in December 2022, it had just survived the fastest, hottest reentry any spacecraft built for humans had faced in more than 50 years.

From ion engines to deep-space propulsion, here's the real science that connects NASA's tech with the TIE Fighter ships seen in "Star Wars."

Another name has been added to the growing list of dead and missing scientists.