March 30 (Reuters) - NASA's Artemis program is the U.S. effort to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since the Apollo era and eventually establish a sustained human presence there, a goal Washington has framed as central to maintaining space leadership amid growing competition from China.

The Artemis II crew has begun the seven-hour flyby of the moon, with Astronauts observing the far side of the moon never seen by Humans.

“On the far side of the Moon, 252,756 miles away, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy have now traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history and now begin their journey home," he said on X.