NASA’s Artemis II crew aboard the Orion spacecraft is on track for a historic lunar flyby Monday after completing key maneuvers and preparations that have sent humans beyond low Earth orbit for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972. The four-person international team launched April 1 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and continues a roughly 10-day mission testing systems for future lunar exploration.
The mission management team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston gave the “go” for the critical translunar injection burn on April 2. Orion’s main engine fired for five minutes and 50 seconds starting at 7:49 p.m. EDT that evening, successfully sending the spacecraft out of Earth orbit on a trajectory toward the Moon. The engine provides up to 6,700 pounds of thrust, enough to accelerate a car from 0 to 60 mph in about 2.7 seconds. At the time of the burn, Orion’s mass was 58,000 pounds and it consumed approximately 1,000 pounds of fuel.
Credit: NASA
Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch of NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency are the first humans to leave Earth orbit in more than five decades. Following the burn, the crew began routine operations including exercise on Orion’s compact flywheel device, which weighs just 30 pounds and is the size of a carry-on suitcase yet supports loads up to 400 pounds for both aerobic and resistive movements. Ground teams monitored the spacecraft’s air revitalization system during these sessions to assess impacts on cabin environment.
Flight controllers canceled the first two planned outbound trajectory correction burns after confirming the spacecraft remained on the precise path. A third correction burn occurred late Sunday, April 5, lasting 17.5 seconds at 11:03 p.m. EDT to fine-tune the trajectory. The crew also tested the Orion Crew Survival System suits, performing leak checks, seat entry simulations, mobility assessments, and evaluations of eating and drinking capabilities in microgravity.
On Saturday, April 4, Glover and Hansen took manual control of Orion for 41 minutes starting at 9:09 p.m. EDT, testing thruster modes in six and three degrees of freedom to gather data on handling qualities. Wiseman and Glover are scheduled to repeat the demonstration later in the mission. The crew reviewed final lunar science targets, including the Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater visible in full illumination, and the Hertzsprung basin on the far side for comparison of geologic features formed billions of years ago.
The crew captured selfies using a camera on one of Orion’s solar array wings and checked out the AVATAR payload, which carries bone marrow cells from crew blood samples to study immune system responses in deep space. German Space Agency M-42 radiation sensors and crew-worn actigraphy devices continue collecting data on the deep-space environment. The Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System has downlinked more than 100 gigabytes of data, including high-resolution images, demonstrating laser communications potential for future missions.
A brief communications issue shortly after reaching orbit was traced to a ground configuration problem with the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system and was resolved quickly with no operational impact. Engineers addressed a wastewater vent line issue by orienting the vent toward the Sun and using heaters, allowing the toilet to remain operational while monitoring the tank.
Lunar flyby activities are set for Monday, April 6. Orion will enter the Moon’s sphere of gravitational influence at 12:41 a.m. EDT at about 41,072 miles from the lunar surface. Live coverage begins at 1 p.m. on NASA+ and other platforms. Lunar observations start at 2:45 p.m. when cabin windows point toward the Moon, allowing the crew to photograph and describe craters, ancient lava flows, cracks, and ridges using skills practiced on Earth.
At 1:56 p.m., the crew will surpass Apollo 13’s 1970 distance record of 248,655 miles from Earth. Maximum distance of approximately 252,757 to 252,760 miles occurs around 7:07 p.m. Closest approach to the Moon is 4,070 miles at 7:02 p.m. A planned 40-minute communications blackout begins around 6:44 p.m. as Orion passes behind the Moon. The crew will observe Earthset and Earthrise, plus a nearly one-hour solar eclipse from 8:35 to 9:32 p.m. during which they can study the solar corona and look for meteoroid impact flashes on the darkened lunar surface. Observations conclude at 9:20 p.m. Orion exits the lunar sphere of influence Tuesday at 1:25 p.m.
The crew began recent days to music selections including “Green Light” by John Legend and Andre 3000, “…In a Daydream” by the Freddy Jones Band, “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan, and “Working Class Heroes (Work)” by CeeLo Green. A message from Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke welcomed the team, noting the shared Orion name and offering family photos as inspiration. Koch remarked on seeing the Moon clearly from the docking hatch, calling it a beautiful sight.
All trajectory adjustments and system checks position Orion for a safe return with Pacific Ocean splashdown planned around April 10 or 11. The mission advances NASA’s Artemis program by validating deep-space operations, crew health measures, and science capabilities ahead of future lunar landings.
