Artemis II astronauts enter Moon’s sphere of influence in key mission milestone

The four astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission entered the moon’s sphere of influence on Monday, where lunar gravity exerts a stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth’s.

The crew reached this stage four days, six hours, and two minutes into the mission, at a distance of about 62,800 kilometers (39,000 miles) from the Moon and 373,400 km (232,000 mi) from Earth.

The next key milestone will be the trip later on Monday to the far side of the moon, which will see humans venture deeper into space than ever before.

“We’re all extremely excited for tomorrow,” Lori Glaze, the deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission, said on Sunday. “Our flight operations team and our science team are ready for the first lunar flyby in more than 50 years.”

The crew includes the first astronauts to head toward the Moon in more than half a century, marking a return to lunar missions since the end of the Apollo program in 1972.