Artemis II began its historic flyby of the moon Monday in what is the mission’s showstopper event — giving its crew and Earthlings back home their first glimpses ever of parts of the lunar dark side.

As the Artemis II launch window opens, NASA is looking beyond this fly-around mission to the moon’s south pole, where water ice, ancient terrain and extreme conditions could shape the future of human exploration.

Artemis II marked the first crewed trip to the moon in over 50 years, splashing down off the coast of San Diego on Friday.