NOW - Artemis II crew nears their closest approach to the Moon, Earth can be seen setting over the Moon's horizon in the

The four-person crew of NASA's Artemis II mission is approaching their closest point to the Moon, a historic milestone that marks humanity's first crewed lunar flyby in more than five decades. Mission controllers at Johnson Space Center in Houston confirmed the spacecraft is on course as the crew prepared to witness a breathtaking sight: Earth appearing to set over the Moon's cratered horizon, a celestial spectacle not seen by human eyes since the Apollo era.

The Artemis II mission, carrying Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, has been transmitting live imagery from the Orion spacecraft as it arcs around the far side of the Moon. The so-called free-return trajectory will slingshot the crew back toward Earth without requiring a lunar orbit insertion burn, reducing mission risk while validating the systems needed for future crewed landings.

At closest approach, the spacecraft is expected to pass within approximately 8,889 kilometers of the lunar surface, bringing the crew closer to the Moon than any humans since Apollo 17 in December 1972. The visual of Earth setting behind the Moon's limb, captured through Orion's windows and relayed to a global audience, has already drawn comparisons to the iconic Earthrise photograph taken by Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders in 1968.

The mission holds significance beyond the purely scientific. It represents the operational readiness test for the Space Launch System and Orion capsule ahead of Artemis III, which is planned to land astronauts near the lunar south pole. That mission is of keen interest to Gulf states, including Qatar, which has been deepening its partnerships in the space sector through the Qatar Space Agency and collaborative agreements with international partners.

Qatar has signaled its intent to play a role in the emerging cislunar economy, particularly as nations compete to establish a presence at the Moon's south pole, believed to harbor water ice that could support long-duration human habitation and serve as a resource for deep-space fuel production. Officials from the Qatar Space Agency have previously expressed interest in contributing to international lunar exploration frameworks.

The Artemis II crew is expected to complete their closest lunar approach before the spacecraft begins its return trajectory to Earth, with splashdown anticipated in the Pacific Ocean. The mission is being watched across the Arab world as a marker of renewed human ambition in space exploration.