From the moon to Mars

By Brendan Byrne

Published November 22, 2022 at 1:55 PM EST

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A portion of the far side of the Moon looms large just beyond the Orion spacecraft in this image taken on the sixth day of the Artemis I mission by a camera on the tip of one of Orion’s solar arrays. The spacecraft entered the lunar sphere of influence Sunday, Nov. 20, making the Moon, instead of Earth, the main gravitational force acting on the spacecraft. On Monday, Nov. 21, it came within 80 miles of the lunar surface, the closest approach of the uncrewed Artemis I mission, before moving into a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon. The darkest spot visible near the middle of the image is Mare Orientale. Photo: NASA

NASA’s Artemis I mission has made it to the moon. The milestone mission launched last week from Kennedy Space Center, ushering in a new chapter of lunar exploration.

We’ll hear from NASASpaceflight.com assistant managing editor Chris Gebhardt about that historic launch and what’s ahead for the space capsule Orion now that it’s reached the moon.

Then, a robot exploring Mars was only expected to last 90 days -- instead, it made it 15 years. Now, a new documentary is chronicling the incredible journey of NASA’s Opportunity rover. We’ll explore the new film Good Night Oppy with Director Ryan White and chat with Doug Ellison, one of the rover’s scientists, about the mission's legacy.