NASA’s Orion spacecraft heading for the Moon – NASA/AFP

NASA officials said the Orion spacecraft entered lunar orbit this Friday (25) as part of a successful moon mission procedure that has been delayed several times.

Just a week after the Florida spacecraft was launched to the moon, flight controllers “successfully placed Orion into a distant retrograde orbit,” according to the US space agency’s website.

The goal is for the spacecraft to take astronauts to the lunar surface in the coming years as part of the first mission since Apollo in 1972.

This first unmanned test flight is intended to ensure the safety of the spacecraft.

“Orbit removed, Orion will fly about 40,000 miles (about 64,300 km) over the Moon,” NASA said.

While the spacecraft is in lunar orbit, the agency said flight controllers will monitor key systems and conduct deep space inspections.

It will take Orion about a week to complete one half of its orbit around the moon. According to NASA, the spacecraft will then leave orbit and head home.

The spacecraft is expected to return to Earth with a landing in the Pacific Ocean scheduled for Dec. 11.

The success of this mission will determine the future of the Artemis 2 mission, in which astronauts fly around the moon without landing, and Artemis 3, in which humans finally set foot on the lunar surface.

These missions are planned for 2024 and 2025 respectively.