The four astronauts will also spend some time testing their “Orion crew survival system” spacesuits.
The orange suits protect the crewmembers during launch and reentry, but are also available for emergency use – they can provide up to six days of breathable air.
The astronauts are the first to ever wear the OCSS suits in space, and will test their functions, including how quickly they can put them on and pressurise them.
While the four astronauts will not touch down on the lunar surface, they are expected to break the record for the farthest distance from Earth during their pass around the Moon.
Over the next day, “they will be on the far side of the Moon, they will eclipse that record, and we’re going to learn an awful lot about the spacecraft”, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said Sunday during a televised interview with CNN.
The information will be “pretty paramount to set up for subsequent missions like Artemis 3 in 2027 and, of course, the lunar landing itself on Artemis 4 in 2028”, he added.
NASA said the Artemis crew has completed a manual piloting demonstration and reviewed their lunar flyby plan, including reviewing the surface features they must analyse and photograph during their time circling the Moon.
“We’re focusing very much on the ecosystem, the life support system of the spacecraft,” Isaacman told CNN.
“This is the first time astronauts have ever flown on this spacecraft before,” he said. “That’s what we’re most interested in getting data from.”