If all goes according to plan, the Artemis II astronauts will embark on a three-day journey to the moon.

Their significant milestone is set for Monday, when they will fly around the moon. This historic maneuver will enable humans to travel farther from Earth than ever before, potentially breaking the distance record of 248,655 miles established by Apollo 13 astronauts in 1970.

During the flyby, the Artemis II crew will approach within 4,000 to 6,000 miles of the moon’s surface. According to NASA, from this vantage point, the moon will appear roughly the size of a basketball held at arm’s length.

As they orbit the moon, the astronauts will observe portions of the moon’s surface for the first time through human eyes, specifically the far side of the moon that is never visible from Earth.

Following the orbit, the astronauts will conclude their mission with a return flight to Earth, culminating in a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego on April 10th.

The Artemis II mission is a crucial element of NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon and establish a sustainable human presence there, with future aspirations to construct a lunar base.

In 2024, NASA plans to launch the Artemis III mission, which will utilize a commercially built lunar lander to demonstrate technology in low Earth orbit. Companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing landers to transport NASA astronauts from lunar orbit to the moon’s surface.

Following Artemis III, NASA intends to launch the Artemis IV mission with the goal of landing on the moon sometime in 2028.