The four Artemis II astronauts have reached beyond the halfway point between Earth and the moon, confirmed NASA on Friday.
On April 3, NASA shared a stunning click of the moon in the distance, with the caption, "We're halfway there."
"At the time of posting this, the Artemis II mission is about halfway to the Moon. When the astronauts arrive, they will conduct a lunar flyby and collect scientific observations of the Moon's surface," the caption read.
The space agency's online dashboard showed that the Orion spacecraft carrying the astronauts is now over 154,300 miles from Earth and 122,500 miles to the moon.
The crew, which includes Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hanse, is expected to reach their destination on Monday, where they will swing around the moon in their Orion capsule, hang a U-turn, and then head straight back home without stopping.
Orion will travel about 4,000 miles (6,400 km) beyond the moon before turning back, providing a never-seen-before view of the lunar far side.
If all goes to plan, the astronauts will set a record by venturing further from Earth than any human before, over 250,000 miles.
They are the first lunar travellers since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Following their historic mission, Orion is scheduled to return to Earth on April 10, with a planned touchdown in the Pacific Ocean.
