Photos: NASA releases first images from moon flyby

The Artemis II astronauts are making their way back to Earth after the lunar flyby.

The crew became the first astronauts in over 50 years to fly around the far side of the moon. They also experienced a solar eclipse.

During the mission's loop around the moon, the crew took geological observations of places of interest on the lunar surface with their own eyes and snapping thousands of photos of the surface.

The crew will return to Earth on Friday and splash down off the coast of California. NASA says a landing on the lunar surface won't happen until 2028, at the earliest.

Here is what they captured.