The Artemis II astronauts left Earth’s orbit, and are further than any human has been from home since 1972.
After testing vital systems, the crew boosted the Orion capsule to 22,670 mph and escaped Earth’s gravity. The capsule and the moon will pass each other in three days — the moon is traveling at thousands of miles an hour itself, and is still over 150,000 miles from the rendezvous.
Once there, the astronauts will have a brief view of the moon’s far side, including views no human has seen before, and be further into space than anyone has ever gone. One potentially crucial problem has been overcome: The capsule’s high-tech space toilet malfunctioned, but is now fully operational.