The Artemis II mission successfully continued its lunar flyby path, passing the halfway point between the Earth and the Moon , NASA has said.

Artemis II astronauts are the first to fly towards the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 . They will not land, as their mission is a test of the capsule itself and the first steps of NASA's planned landing in 2028. The agency hopes to eventually establish a base on the moon.

MIssion control in Houston held a call with the four astronauts on board the Orion capsule at around 11:00 pm (4:00 am UTC) on Friday night, and informed them of the significance of their location.

"You are now closer to the moon than you are to us on Earth," said.…