NASA’s Artemis II mission has passed the halfway point between Earth and the Moon as it continues its planned lunar flyby, the agency said.
This crewed flight — the first mission to head toward the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 — is a test of the Orion capsule and a precursor to a future crewed lunar landing aimed for 2028 and eventual sustained presence on the Moon. The spacecraft is not scheduled to land.
Mission control in Houston spoke with the four astronauts aboard Orion at about 11:00 p.m. local time Friday (04:00 UTC) and highlighted their distance. “You are now closer to the Moon than you are to us on Earth,” mission controllers said, reporting Orion was roughly 219,000 kilometers (136,080 miles) from Earth.
That milestone occurred about two days, five hours and 24 minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The crew — American astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen — are on a free-return trajectory that will let the Moon’s gravity bend Orion’s path back toward Earth without firing engines.
Koch said the four aboard shared a moment of joy and could see the Moon through the docking hatch. She described the view as beautiful as they swung farther from Earth.
The astronauts photographed Earth during the outbound leg, and NASA released those images. Commander Reid Wiseman captured a curved sliver of the planet through a capsule window and a full-disk shot showing ocean, cloud patterns and a green aurora near the North Pole. Wiseman called the sight “the most spectacular moment,” saying it stopped all four crewmembers in their tracks during a TV briefing.
Inside Orion the crew have been settling into the confined environment, noting it feels a bit chilly but habitable. Early system checks turned up minor problems — a brief communications glitch and an issue with the onboard toilet — which were addressed. Koch quipped she was proud to be a “space plumber,” and said restoring the restroom was an important morale boost for the team.
To counteract the effects of microgravity, each astronaut has started a daily exercise routine of roughly 30 minutes to preserve muscle and bone health.
Following its planned path, Orion will use the Moon’s gravity to loop back toward Earth on the free-return trajectory, returning the crew safely without relying on propulsion burns for the outbound and return swing-by.