Multiple states are facing an early sample of winter this week as storms and a cold front sweep Australia's south-east.

Melbourne is facing a week of overcast skies and showers, with temperatures to fall from a top of 27 degrees on Thursday to a top of 17 degrees on Saturday and Sunday, and lows of 10 degrees or just below through the weekend.

Canberra will get as cold as just two degrees on Sunday and Monday, while lows of 9 degrees on the weekend are expected in Adelaide and 7 degrees in Hobart.

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Weatherzone said a trough would move across south-eastern Australia on Thursday, with severe thunderstorms expected in southern South Australia, Victoria and southern New South Wales.

"With strong winds aloft, these storms are likely to produce damaging wind gusts, with a chance of destructive winds in some areas," Weatherzone reported.

Gusts of more than 80km/h are expected over "elevated terrain", accelerating to 90km/h to 100km/h in alpine and mountainous regions.

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"After the cold front crosses later on Thursday, a much colder airmass will sweep across the south-east on (Friday), with a secondary trough and low driving a noticeable shift to wintry conditions into the weekend," Weatherzone said.

Snow could fall at heights of just 600m above sea level in Tasmania, while some could also been seen in Victoria, though only above 1000m.

"Cold air thunderstorms with small hail are also possible, marking a notable early-season wintry outbreak for April across southeast Australia," Weatherzone said.

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Family and friends are paying tribute to an Australian woman who died in a road accident in Fiji as she celebrated her 28th birthday.

Virgin Australia flight attendant Lucinta Evans was struck by a taxi that had hit another vehicle and veered off the road in Nadi on March 28.

In a heartbreaking post on Instagram, her sister Gabriana Evans said Lucinta was "truly full of life, with a light and energy that touched everyone who knew her".

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"Right now, we are all trying to process this loss and ask for some privacy as we grieve together".

Lucinta's cabin manager Lissy Hyde posted a floral tribute to her colleague at the site of the crash.

"I won't be able to look after you anymore on our flights or anything about work. I ask you to look after us from above," she said.

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"Fly with us my girl, beat us to every destination so we know you're there. You are loved, and we will continue to live life as bright and loud as you."

Her funeral will be held in Sydney on Monday, April 13.

A Gofundme has been set up to support Lucinta's family and partner "during this incredibly difficult time".

"Alongside their grief, they are facing unexpected financial strain after the funeral. This fund is to help ease that burden, giving them the space and time to mourn and heal without added stress," the Gofundme campaign said.

"A portion of the funds will also be used in Lucinta's memory — through road safety advocacy or a memorial plaque — with the hope of raising awareness and helping prevent future incidents at this location."

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The four astronauts aboard the Orion space capsule of the Artemis II made history – again – early this morning.

As of about 4am AEST, they became humanity's most far-reaching explorers, having broken the record for how far people have travelled from Earth.

That record, of 400,171, was set by the crew of Apollo 13 in 1970.

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Astronaut Jeremy Hansen marked the moment with a message to the world.

"Most importantly, choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived," he said from the capsule.

Hansen, on behalf of the crew, also asked for a new lunar crater they had observed to be named after mission commander Reid Wiseman's late wife Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020.

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The four astronauts embraced as they soared past humanity's furthest reach.

They are expected to surpass Apollo 13's record by more than 6600km as they complete their lunar flyby, which begins this morning.

Australia's crucial role

Former NASA astronaut Dr Terry Hart said it was "a wonderful time for mankind" as the astronauts prepare for the next, crucial stage of their mission that takes them to the dark side of the moon.

"They're going to see the Earth set over the lunar horizon and then about 40 minutes later they'll come out on the eastern side of the moon and they'll see the earth rise," he told Today.

"It's never business as usual. Being in space, it's just such a thrill."

Hart also highlighted the role Australia had played in the mission.

"I should thank you. A very important part of this is Canberra, our deep space network in Canberra, we couldn't do it without you," he said.

The Canberra Deep Space Communication Centre is part of NASA's Deep Space Network, which supports space exploration missions and allows the US agency to remain in contact with spacecraft as the Earth spins in orbit.

The Canberra antennae received the first pictures of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in 1969.

'Enjoy the view'

The astronauts started the momentous day with the voice of Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, who recorded a wake-up message just two months before his death last August.

"Welcome to my old neighbourhood," said Lovell, who also flew on Apollo 8, humanity's first lunar visit.

"It's a historic day and I know how busy you'll be, but don't forget to enjoy the view."

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They took up with them the Apollo 8 silk patch that accompanied Lovell to the moon, and showed it off as the crucial flyby approached. "It's just a real honour to have that on board with us," said Wiseman. "Let's go have a great day."

Artemis II is using the same manoevre that Apollo 13 did after its "Houston, we've had a problem" oxygen tank explosion wiped out any hope of a moon landing.

Known as a free-return lunar trajectory, this no-stopping-to-land route takes advantage of Earth and the moon's gravity, reducing the need for fuel. It's a celestial figure-eight that will put the astronauts on course for home, once they emerge from behind the moon Monday evening.

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The astronauts will be out of communication with Earth for about 45 minutes at the farthest edge of their trip.

Wiseman, Hansen, pilot Victor Glover and Christina Koch were on track to pass as close as 6550km to the moon, as their Orion capsule whips past it, hangs a U-turn and then heads back toward Earth. It will take them four days to get back, with a splashdown in the Pacific concluding their test flight on Friday.

Their expected speed at closest approach to the moon: 5052km/hr.

Wiseman and his crew spent years studying lunar geography to prepare for the big event, adding solar eclipses to their repertoire during the past few weeks. By launching last Wednesday, they ensured themselves of a total solar eclipse from their vantage point behind the moon, courtesy of the cosmos.

Topping their science target list: Orientale Basin, a sprawling impact basin with three concentric rings, the outermost of which stretches nearly 950km across.

Other sightseeing goals: the Apollo 12 and 14 landing sites from 1969 and 1971, respectively, as well as fringes of the south polar region, the preferred locale for future touchdowns. Farther afield, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn – not to mention Earth – will be visible.

Their moon mentor, NASA geologist Kelsey Young, expects thousands of pictures.

"People all over the world connect with the moon. This is something that every single person on this planet can understand and connect with," she said on the eve of the flyby, wearing eclipse earrings.

Artemis II is NASA's first astronaut moonshot since Apollo 17 in 1972. It sets the stage for next year's Artemis III, which will see another Orion crew practice docking with lunar landers in orbit around Earth. The culminating moon landing by two astronauts near the moon's south pole will follow on Artemis IV in 2028.

While Artemis II may be taking Apollo 13's path, it's most reminiscent of Apollo 8 and humanity's first lunar visitors who orbited the moon on Christmas Eve 1968 and read from the Book of Genesis.

Glover said flying to the moon during Christianity's Holy Week brought home for him "the beauty of creation." Earth is an oasis amid "a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe" where humanity exists as one, he observed over the weekend.

"This is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing and that we've got to get through this together," Glover said, clasping hands with his crewmates.

With Associated Press.

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