Two-thirds of the journey is complete and for the first time, the astronauts can now see the entire "East Sea", a crater on the border between the near and far sides of the Moon.
"Last night we got our first glimpse of the far side of the Moon, and it was absolutely sensational," said NASA astronaut Christina Koch during a question-and-answer session with the Canadian Space Agency.
The expedition's next milestone is expected to occur on Sunday night when the Moon's gravity becomes stronger than Earth's. If all goes well, the Orion capsule will then circle the Moon, taking the astronauts farther from Earth than any human has ever been.
The Apollo 8 expedition in 1968 also orbited the Moon and photographed the far side. It was also closer to the Moon during its orbit.
Corrected: An earlier version contained incorrect information about previous expeditions.
