NASA Says Artemis II Reaches Halfway Point on the Way to the Moon

Overview

• NASA tracking data early Saturday put Orion about 219,000 kilometers from Earth, roughly halfway to the Moon, with system checkouts continuing without major issues.
• The spacecraft left Earth orbit after Thursday’s 23:49 GMT translunar burn, committing the crew to a free‑return path that uses lunar gravity to send them back to Earth.
• The next milestone comes Monday with a flyby behind the Moon’s far side that will briefly cut communications as the crew takes new images of the surface.
• Following Friday’s first high‑resolution Earth photos, the four astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen — are running radiation, navigation, and spacecraft tests to prepare future lunar missions.
• The 10‑day flight serves as a systems test for a return to the lunar surface, with early hiccups like a toilet repair and email glitches resolved, as European partners prepare to negotiate future seats after NASA’s Gateway shift.