NEW: Amazing video of moon

NASA’s Artemis 1 spacecraft is “exceeding expectations” on its way to orbit the moon, NASA mission manager Mike Serafin said Nov. 18. In three flight days, the spacecraft is halfway to the moon. NASA is getting ready for a key decision gate Nov. 19 as to whether to enter the Distant Retrograde Orbit. That orbit is a major goal of the mission, which would have the spacecraft circling the moon, at a high altitude, in the opposite direction the moon circles the Earth. While in that orbit NASA will check Orion capsule systems in preparation for later missions with astronauts aboard. Artemis did deploy all 10 of the small cubesat experiments. Half are operating well and half have issues, Serafin said. (AL.com 11/18/22) Artemis ‘exceeding expectations’ on its way to moon - al.com 

UPDATE: Spacecraft eyes stunning video of moon

NASA's Orion spacecraft has spotted the destination of its Artemis 1 test flight the moon and captured a stunning video to mark the moment. Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft sees the moon for 1st time in video | Space

Gulf Coast regional notes: Frontline work conducted at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi to help make the moment possible. Each one of the four RS-25 engines that will help launch Artemis 1 was fired and proven flightworthy on the Fred Haise Test Stand at Stennis. The center also tested the engines in unison during the full-duration, 500-second Green Run test of the Artemis I SLS core stage. The core stage for Artemis 1 was built at Michoud Assembly Facility by Boeing in East New Orleans and had all four engines attached in November 2019 and was declared finished one month later. The core stage left the facility to undergo the Green Run test series at Stennis Space Center.