Space

Artemis II Live: NASA’s Orion speeds toward a historic loop around the moon

The astronauts will venture farther into space than the Apollo 13 crew, setting a record

A selfie closeup of the Artemis II Orion capsule on a dark space background

NASA’s Orion spacecraft carrying four astronauts snapped this selfie, as part of an inspection, as it hurtled toward the moon.

NASA

By Lisa Grossman

HOUSTON — After five days in space and five decades of waiting, human astronauts are about to get an unprecedented view of the moon.

With Earth in the rearview mirror, the Artemis II mission’s Orion spacecraft is now in the lunar sphere of influence, where the moon’s gravitation pull is stronger than Earth’s.