NASA's Orion enters far-flung orbit around moon

NASA's Orion capsule is now circling the moon in an orbit stretching tens of thousands of miles.

The capsule and its three test dummies entered lunar orbit Friday, more than a week after launching on the test flight. It will remain in this broad but stable orbit for nearly a week, before heading home. As of Friday, the capsule was 238,000 miles from Earth and expected to reach a maximum distance of almost 270,000 miles in a few days.

NASA considers this a dress rehearsal for the next moon flyby in 2024, with astronauts. A lunar landing by astronauts could follow as soon as 2025.