NASA astronaut Christina Koch view Earth through on of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows. Photo: Courtesy of NASA via Getty Images
Artemis II astronauts will exit the lunar sphere of influence this afternoon around 12:35pm Central Time.
The big picture: After traveling farther from Earth than anyone has before, the astronauts are making the turn for home.
Catch up quick: The crew conducted their seven-hour lunar orbit yesterday, and are making the turn toward home.
After exiting the lunar sphere of influence, astronauts will speak with the crew on the ground.
Orion's engine will fire the first of three return trajectory correction burns that will adjust the spaceship's path back to Earth.
Zoom in: The rest of the day will be largely off-duty, per NASA, giving the crew a chance to rest before jumping into their final to-do lists.
Keep up with the mission via the livestream on NASA+.
What we're watching: Tomorrow, they'll conduct two Orion demonstrations, including assessing their ability to protect themselves from radiation events, which could involve using Orion's supplies and equipment to build a shelter for cover, if needed.
They'll also try out the ship's manual piloting capability by putting it through a variety of tasks and maneuvers.
