US NASA about Artemis II crew

The US space agency NASA said on Friday the crew of Artemis II were “in great spirits” as they prepared to photograph the moon during their journey.

NASA official Lakiesha Hawkins said the astronauts were “really excited” after a busy first few days, adding they were now able to speak with family and enjoy lighter moments “in addition to a lot of hard work.” She said the crew, now more than 160,000 km from Earth, were working with science teams to plan images during the lunar flyby.

Flight director Judd Frieling said all four astronauts would take photos, which would be shared publicly, while Orion program manager Howard Hu said the mission was key to understanding how systems perform with astronauts onboard.

Launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 1, the mission is carrying four astronauts around the moon without landing and is expected to reach up to 405,000 km from Earth, surpassing the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970.