NASA's Artemis-II mission has reached a significant waypoint, crossing the two-thirds mark of its journey to the Moon. This milestone was announced by the agency in a statement on Sunday, occurring during flight day four of the voyage.

In a post on X, NASA highlighted the progress: "Artemis-II just hit the 'two thirds' mark of the journey to the Moon. During Flight Day 4, the astronauts aboard Orion went over plans to study the Moon during their upcoming lunar flyby and are currently practising manually controlling the spacecraft."

Artemis-II astronaut Reid Wiseman captured the moment's awe with a simple yet profound remark: "There are no words."

The mission's astronauts—comprising three Americans and one Canadian—embarked on their historic lunar fly-around on Saturday, venturing deeper into space than even the Apollo astronauts achieved in their time.

The crew is scheduled to arrive at their destination on Monday, where they will photograph the lunar far side during the flyby. This marks the first crewed mission bound for the Moon in more than 53 years, seamlessly picking up where NASA's Apollo program concluded.

Artemis-II is set to shatter the current distance record for human spaceflight. The spacecraft will travel more than 252,000 miles from Earth, execute a U-turn behind the Moon, and return home without landing or entering lunar orbit. This surpasses the record presently held by the Apollo 13 mission.

The Canadian Space Agency marked the occasion with pride, issuing a statement from Quebec as astronaut Jeremy Hansen progressed towards his lunar rendezvous. Hansen holds the distinction of being the first non-US citizen to fly to the Moon, as noted by Politico.

Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell celebrated the achievement: "Today he is making history for Canada. As we watch him taking this bold step into the unknown, let his journey remind us that Canada's future is written by those who dare to reach for more."

The Artemis-II crew—Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch—represent the world's first lunar astronauts since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, which also featured a crew of three.

Among them, Christina Koch becomes the first woman to journey to the Moon, while Victor Glover is the first Black astronaut to do so, according to Politico.

The mission is slated to conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on 10 April, serving as the foundational step in NASA's ambitious programme for establishing a sustainable Moon base.

Looking ahead, the space agency targets a landmark Moon landing by two astronauts near the lunar south pole in 2028, advancing its long-term vision for lunar exploration.

ANI