Artemis II crew nears ‘epic lunar flyby,’ set to push deeper into space than any human before

Astronauts on the Artemis II mission are nearing the moon on flight day six, with the crew set to surpass Apollo 13’s distance record and become the most distant humans in history. The flyby promises new views of the far side of the moon never seen before by human eyes.

Stephen Sorace /Fox News

The Artemis II astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft reached a new mission milestone as the crew prepares to slingshot around the far side of the moon later Monday, breaking the record for how far humans have traveled from Earth.

At 12:37 a.m. Monday, Mission Control Houston confirmed the spacecraft officially entered the lunar sphere of influence at the tail end of the fifth day of space travel. It marks a major mission milestone that means the gravitational forces of the moon were now greater on the spacecraft than the pull of the Earth’s gravity.

"We are now falling to the Moon rather than rising away from Earth,” Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch said from aboard the spacecraft about an hour after entering the lunar sphere of influence. “It is an amazing milestone!"

Artemis II will make its closest approach to the moon later Monday during flight day six.

NASA said it will broadcast coverage of the mission beginning at 1 p.m. ET. Read more here. 

US, Israeli airstrikes batter Iran as Trump’s Strait of Hormuz deadline looms

Associated Press / NEW YORK POST  

Israel and the United States carried out a wave of attacks on Iran on Monday, killing more than 25 people, and Iran responded with missile fire on Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors.

US President Donald Trump’s deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz loomed as mediators circulated a new ceasefire proposal.

Explosions rang out in Tehran and low-flying jets could be heard for hours as the capital was pounded. Thick black smoke rose near the city’s Azadi Square after one airstrike hit the grounds of the Sharif University of Technology.

Among those killed in one of the attacks was the head of intelligence for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi, according to Iranian state media and Israel’s defense minister.

Iranian missiles hit the northern Israeli city of Haifa, where two people were found dead in the rubble of a residential building, and searchers looked for two more. Read more, see photos  and video here.