This handout from NASA TV shows NASA’s Orion spacecraft approaching the moon on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. (NASA via AP)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 3:37 PM PT – Tuesday, November 22, 2022

NASA’s Orion made its closest lunar approach for the first time in 50-years as part of the Artemis 1 mission. The mission aims to return astronauts to the moon. No one has visited the lunar surface since 1972.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration live broadcast, the spacecraft passed about 81-miles above the lunar surface on Monday. Orion will now be entering what is called distant retrograde orbit (DRO), which means it will provide the spacecraft with a stable route around the moon in the opposite direction from which the moon travels around earth. This orbit will not require the Orion to use as much fuel. NASA also confirmed that Orion is set to travel around 40,000 miles beyond the moon at its farther point while in that orbit.

The Artemis 1 mission manager, Michael Sarafin, said that this was a stress test for the capsule. However, its launch last week met and exceeded their expectations. According to NASA officials, the burn, which was created to assist Orion in entering an orbit around the moon, used the moon’s gravitational pull to help the spacecraft shift into an orbit. It will spend around six days in orbit.

The program manager of Orion, Howard Hu, spoke about the mission.

“And we’re like kids,” he said. “As soon as the pictures came out, people were taking pictures of what was on the screen and just smiles across the board. I mean, this is a, like I said, just not for me. I only dream for many people who work at NASA and who work with us on a contractor team and across in both engineering and flight operations and it’s a tremendous day.”

Hu is also hopeful that if everything goes as planned during the 3-week mission, a crew capsule will be sent into a wide orbit around the moon and splash down in the Pacific Ocean in December. The head of the Orion Lunar Spacecraft Program also said that humans could be active on the moon and will be doing science for durations by 2030.

A photo shows a teddy bear with a yellow X. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 2:35 PM PT – Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Authorities in Savannah, Georgia have arrested the mother of a missing toddler in connection to his death.

On Monday, Chatham County Police arrested 22-year-old Leilani Simon for the murder of her 20-month-old son Quinton whose remains were found in a landfill last month.

In a tweet, the department said “We are deeply saddened by this case, but we are thankful that we are one step closer to justice for little Quinton.”

Authorities reported that the toddler’s remains were thrown into a dumpster and were then unknowingly disposed of at a nearby landfill. It was not until then that Simon reported the toddler missing on October 5th.

In a news release from October 12th, authorities presumed that Quinton was dead. His mother was then named the primary suspect in the case.

Neighbors of Simon, like Gerri McCusker, have expressed their relief and satisfaction that the 22-year-old has been finally arrested.

“From the first day it didn’t feel right,” McCusker said. “I was happy they arrested her. It’s just been heartbreaking, and this is the best news to get out of the situation.”

Simon is now facing charges of concealing a death, false statements, and a false report of a crime and murder. She is being held at the Chatham County jail and is awaiting a bond hearing.

Authorities maintain that there is no cause for them to think that they should expect any other arrest in the case.