The capsule is using lunar gravity as a slingshot to head home after a three-week successful mission. But the biggest challenge still lies ahead: hitting the atmosphere at more than 30 times the speed of sound and surviving the fiery re-entry.
NASA's Orion capsule has made one final swoop around the moon on its way back home - taking in a couple of Apollo landing sites en route.
The capsule passed within 80 miles of the far side of the moon, using lunar gravity as a slingshot for the 237,000-mile journey back to Earth.Once emerging from behind the moon and regaining communication with flight controllers in Houston, Orion beamed back photos of a close-up moon and a crescent Earth - Earthrise - in the distance.It is aiming for a Pacific splashdown on Sunday off the coast of San Diego.
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