NASA’s Artemis II moon mission has officially left Earth’s orbit.
The Orion spacecraft has completed its final major fuel burn, charting its course for the remainder of its ten-day mission around the moon and back to Earth.
NASA has successfully embarked on a historic mission around the moon with four astronauts onboard the Artemis II. Stay updated with our coverage.
The Artemis II mission is set to complete a round trip around the moon. On Thursday, at approximately 7:50 EDT, the Orion spacecraft’s main engine in the European Service Module was ignited, expelling 6,700 pounds of monomethyl hydrazine over six minutes. This “translunar injection burn” propelled the spacecraft onto its intended course with 6,000 pounds of thrust, akin to accelerating a car from 0 to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds, boosting its speed by 867 mph.
“With the engine ignition, humanity begins its lunar return journey, setting Integrity and her crew on a safe path home,” announced Houston Mission Control just before the burn. “Houston is go for TLI.”
“Integrity copies—your Integrity crew is go for TLI,” responded astronaut Christina Koch. “We choose Earth with this burn to the moon.”
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Post-burn, the crew is “healthy” and the Orion spacecraft is “performing really well,” stated Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, during a press conference on Thursday night. The burn was “flawless,” Glaze noted, and NASA is not monitoring any concerns at this stage.
Prior to the operation, the crew of four—astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—conducted system checks to prepare. At burn time, the spacecraft was 115 miles above Earth.
Their efforts have the Artemis II racing towards the moon at an impressive 22,670 mph, its peak speed in space. As of now, the moon is about 246,000 miles away; it will take nearly three days for Orion to enter the moon’s gravitational sphere.
This trajectory allows Orion to swing around and return to Earth, likely without needing another large burn, and it should splash down on April 10. However, a few small fuel burns are planned to maintain course over the coming days.
With this critical burn completed, the crew will have more time to conduct experiments and potentially connect with their families. “They’ve been really busy,” NASA flight director Judd Frieling mentioned at the press conference, adding, “we’ll make time for that now that we’re past TLI.”
The Artemis II crew will spend the remaining journey to the moon testing life-support systems and preparing for their time over the lunar far side on Monday. On that day, they will have a brief opportunity to observe lunar features never seen by human eyes, capturing photos and videos. They are also set to travel further from Earth than any human ever has. After their moon-assisted turn, the astronauts will begin the return journey, with a scheduled splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at around 5:30 P.M. on April 10.
Additional reporting by Jackie Flynn Mogensen
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