Highlights
- Crew passes halfway mark to moon, breaking 50-year astronaut lunar travel gap.
- Mission includes first woman, person of colour on lunar journey.
- Astronauts to swing around moon Monday, aiming for distance record.
Commander Reid Wiseman and his three crewmates are making history as the first lunar travellers since Apollo 17's 1972 mission.
The team comprises three Americans and one Canadian, marking several firsts: the first woman, first person of colour, and first non-American on a lunar mission.
Nasa released the crew's initial photographs on Friday, just 36 hours into the journey. Wiseman's first image captured Earth's curved edge through the capsule window, while a second showed the entire globe adorned with swirling clouds and a green aurora.
"It's great to think that with the exception of our four friends, all of us are represented in this image," said Nasa's Lakiesha Hawkins, an exploration systems leader.
Record-breaking return trajectory
The astronauts executed a crucial engine firing on Thursday night, lasting nearly six minutes, which set their course.
They are now on a "free return" trajectory, using lunar gravity to slingshot around the moon before heading home.
The crew, including pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch, will reach the moon on Monday.
They'll travel approximately 4,000 miles beyond it before turning back, potentially setting a distance record of over 250,000 miles from Earth.
"There's nothing that prepares you for the breathtaking aspect of seeing your home planet both lit up bright as day, and also the moon glow on it at night," Koch remarked.
The mission forms part of Nasa's broader Artemis programme, aiming to establish a permanent lunar base.
Despite facing delays and cost overruns, the project continues amid competition with China's planned 2030 lunar landing.
After early toilet malfunctions were resolved, Koch joked about becoming "the space plumber".
The crew maintains daily exercise routines to combat muscle loss in zero gravity.
