We got to share in a rare moment of collective awe this week as four astronauts blasted off toward the moon, beginning a 10-day journey that will take them farther from Earth than any humans have traveled in the last 50 years. It’ll still be a little while before they reach their destination \u2014 the Orion spacecraft is expected to loop around the moon on Monday \u2014 but they’ve already seen some pretty incredible stuff on the way there. Here’s the latest on the Artemis II mission, and other interesting science stories from this week.<\/p>\n
Artemis II crosses the halfway point<\/h2>\n
After years of planning, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, are finally on their way to the moon for the Artemis II mission. This test flight is a crucial step in NASA’s plans to send humans to the surface of the moon again for the first time since Apollo 17, and the high-stakes launch went off without a hitch on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The Artemis II crew is now more than halfway to the moon, according to NASA. When Orion reaches the moon on April 6, the astronauts will have a six-hour window of opportunity to observe the partially lit lunar far side, which can’t be seen from Earth. If you’re curious about where exactly the astronauts are at any given moment, you can track the mission by visiting NASA’s Artemis Real-Time Orbit website. And, if you just want to see what space looks like from Orion, here’s a livestream from outside the capsule.\u00a0The moon is now in view!<\/p>\n
The crew did experience some technical difficulties after leaving the ground, though all were resolved fairly quickly. Early Thursday morning, Wiseman contacted mission control to troubleshoot some issues with a Surface Pro he was attempting to use, noting, “I have two Microsoft Outlooks and neither one of those are working.” Relatable. The Artemis II crew was also greeted by a malfunctioning toilet not long into the flight, and astronaut Koch had to work with the ground team to figure out a fix \u2014 which they thankfully were able to do. In a livestream later, the astronaut joked that she is now a space plumber.<\/p>\n
Small issues aside, the Artemis II mission is off to a pretty amazing start. The Orion spacecraft completed its translunar injection burn on Thursday, officially taking it out of Earth orbit and putting it on its way to the moon. Commander Wiseman shared some pictures of the view from Orion’s windows afterward, and they are breathtaking. In one unbelievably crisp shot of Earth, you can even see two auroras. And there’s plenty more observations to come.<\/p>\n
Students discover a nearly pristine ancient star<\/h2>\n
Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), a group of undergraduate students at the University of Chicago has discovered what’s thought to be one of the oldest stars ever observed. Their analysis indicates that the star, called SDSSJ0715-7334, was born in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud billions of years ago before eventually making its way to the Milky Way.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/YUGRjxplz09pxMF1nzOW5A--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU4MQ--\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/low-res_ump_orbit_map_0550.jpg\"\/)