The Artemis II mission rocket has successfully orbited the Earth and transitioned to the next phase of its mission: reaching the moon.
“Nominal translunar injection burn complete. The Artemis II crew is officially on the way to the Moon. America is back in the business of sending astronauts to the Moon. This time, farther than ever before,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote on X just after 8 p.m.
NASA’s rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Wednesday, clearing the Kennedy Space Center at 6:35 p.m. as the four astronauts began their journey. On Thursday, the astronauts aboard the Orion capsule successfully journeyed out of the planet’s orbit and blasted toward the moon.
The astronauts will travel behind the moon during the flyby, going further than any NASA or international mission has gone before. But before they reach the moon, the Orion astronauts needed to leave the planet’s orbit, something that hadn’t been achieved by humans in over 50 years.
Lori Glaze announced the achievement in a press conference on Thursday, noting it was the first time humans had escaped Earth’s orbit since 1972.
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen comprise the four astronauts aboard Orion, making history as they navigate territory uncharted for over five decades.
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Hansen told mission control that the four-man crew was “feeling pretty good up here” after the successful nominal translunar injection burn.
“Humanity has once again shown what we are capable of, and it’s your hopes for the future that carry us now on this journey around the moon,” Hansen said.
