Overview
- NASA said late Friday the Orion spacecraft had passed the halfway mark to the Moon and was now closer to the lunar target than to Earth.
- After a Wednesday launch and a day of system checks in orbit, Orion’s main engine fired for nearly six minutes to perform the translunar injection that set the crew on a Moon‑bound path.
- NASA released the mission’s first high‑resolution images from Orion, including a full‑disk view of Earth with a visible green aurora.
- The plan calls for a pass about 7,500 kilometers over the Moon’s far side to scout southern landing sites, with a splashdown roughly 10 days after launch and a trajectory that could set a new distance record for humans.
- The four‑person crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—reported all systems stable after an 11‑minute pre‑launch hold on the abort system and brief post‑launch glitches with communications and the toilet that NASA said were fixed.