For the first time in over 50 years, astronauts on a NASA mission are heading towards the Moon. On Thursday, they successfully completed a key burn of Orion’s main engine, called the translunar injection burn. This six-minute firing accelerated the spacecraft to break free of Earth’s orbit and begin its outbound trajectory toward the Moon.
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen are now on a precise trajectory towards the Moon. The Orion spacecraft is operating with crew for the first time in space, gathering critical data, and learning from each step.
The astronauts have completed several tasks since launch, including deploying CubeSats, transitioning to the Deep Space Network for communications, and configuring the spacecraft for the translunar injection burn. Next, they will conduct a manual piloting demonstration using the ICPS as a docking target.
On April 6, the astronauts will take high-resolution photographs of the lunar surface during a planned lunar flyby. They will then return to Earth and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.
This historic mission marks meaningful progress on NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on its foundation for future missions to Mars.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-artemis-ii-mission-leaves-earth-orbit-for-flight-around-moon