Artemis II astronauts approach 100,000 miles from Earth on voyage to the moon

Capsule’s engine fires up for six minutes, putting crew on track to reach farthest distance travelled by humans in space

The four astronauts on the Artemis II mission are approaching 100,000 miles from Earth as they head towards the moon, putting them on track to reach the farthest distance humans have ever travelled into space.

The crew have left Earth’s orbit and fired their engines on Thursday for a “translunar injection”, sending the Orion capsule on its trajectory towards the moon.