The crew of Artemis 2, the first manned mission to the Moon since 1972, is now halfway to the Moon.

The crew earlier tested their ability to take manual control of the spacecraft, and reported no problems with the test.

So far, the only technical difficulties the three-man, one woman crew have encountered is a temporary loss of communications with flight controllers and a toilet that has been stopped up twice.

The crew, commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch of NASA, and Jeremy Hansen, the latter being with the Canadian Space Agency, have been preparing for their lunar fly-by and testing the flight control and life support systems aboard the spacecraft.