NASA's Artemis II mission is on track to reach the moon by Monday night, five days after its picture-perfect launch on Wednesday evening. The Orion capsule, carrying four astronauts, will orbit 43,730 miles above Earth for 24 hours while mission controllers test critical systems including life support and deep-space communications.

During this high-Earth orbit, the crew will practice docking maneuvers essential for future lunar missions. If serious problems arise, mission managers can bring the astronauts home while still in Earth orbit. The spacecraft will then fire its engines Thursday evening to begin the three-day journey to the moon, entering the lunar sphere of influence where the moon's gravity becomes dominant.

The mission will reach 252,799 miles from Earth, the farthest humans have ever traveled. Following a "free return" trajectory that uses the moon's gravity for the return trip, Orion is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, completing the 10-day mission that marks humanity's return to deep space exploration.