NASA's Apollo 17 mission, Artemis II, is set to launch on Wednesday, returning to the agency's original deep-space ambitions as it moves towards a sustained presence on and around the Moon. The mission, if successful, will take place nearly 250,000 miles from Earth, the farthest from a human has ever traveled. The 10-day lunar fly-by will be a test flight before NASA attempts a lunar landing in 2028. This move comes as NASA aims to increase the number of lunar missions and maintain a sustained human presence on the Moon, a process that NASA is embarking on towards becoming a spacefaring society.