NASA Artemis II crew heads for Moon nears 160934km
NASA's Artemis II mission is picking up speed as four astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, close in on the 100,000-mile mark from Earth.
After a successful translunar injection move, they're headed for the Moon and could soon set a new record for the farthest humans have traveled from Earth.
Artemis II supports lunar base plan
The crew has been busy running system checks (and even fixing a minor toilet glitch with Mission Control's help).
Their path uses the Moon's gravity to swing them back home, a smart move that fits into NASA's bigger plan to build a permanent base on the lunar surface.
As NASA's Lori Glaze put it: Ladies and gentlemen, I am so, so excited to be able to tell you that for the first time since 1972 during Apollo 17, human beings have left Earth orbit,
The world is watching as Artemis II paves the way for future space adventures.