Dan Ronan

Todd Bookman with New Hampshire Public Radio reports.

NASA says the four Artemis II astronauts are no more than halfway to the moon.

They are the first astronauts in more than 53 years to travel that far into space.

During a 10-day flight, they will conduct numerous tests on the capsule and other equipment with NASA's goal of returning astronauts back to the moon's surface in 2028.

Monday, the astronauts will fly around the dark side of the moon, possibly taking them further than any other person has ever been from the Earth.

Depending on the final orbit, it could be slightly beyond what the Apollo 13 astronauts flew in 1970.

This is NPR News from Washington.

I'm Dan Ronan.

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan.

Iran shot down two U.S.

aircraft in separate attacks on Friday, making this the first time U.S.

aircraft have been taken down in the five-week-old war.

One plane was a single-seat aircraft, the A-10, known as the Warthog.

The U.S.

says the pilot was rescued.

The second plane is an Air Force F-15E fighter that has two pilots.

One pilot has been rescued as search is underway for the second airman.

NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman says the attack show Iran's military is still capable of fighting back.

At this point in the war, 13 U.S.

service members have been killed.