Artemis II prepares for 1st crewed lunar flyby since Apollo
NASA's Artemis II just entered a crucial stage: its Orion spacecraft is now flying under the Moon's gravity.
This sets up a historic slingshot maneuver, making it the first crewed trip to fly by the Moon since the Apollo program.
If you're curious, there's a seven-hour live broadcast today, April 6, with updates from the crew and mission control in Houston.
Artemis II crew includes 3 firsts
Artemis II is following an Apollo 13-style path around the Moon with four astronauts: Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist), and Jeremy Hansen from Canada.
This mission is a big deal: Koch is the first woman, Glover the first person of color, and Hansen the first non-American astronaut to complete the journey around the Moon.
The team will also get front-row seats to a rare solar eclipse while exploring new lunar territory.