NASA’s Artemis II crew began their journey to the Moon on April 2 after Orion completed a translunar injection burn lasting nearly six minutes. The maneuver sent astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen out of Earth orbit for the first time since 1972. The spacecraft is now on a trajectory toward a planned lunar flyby, with scientific observations scheduled in the coming days.
For the first time in more than half a century, humans are no longer orbiting Earth. They are heading for the Moon.
At 7:49 p.m. Eastern Time on April 2, NASA’s Orion spacecraft ignited its engine and began accelerating out of Earth’s gravitational hold. The burn lasted five minutes and 50 seconds. When it ended, Artemis II had crossed a threshold not reached since the Apollo era.
The mission, led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is now on a trajectory that will carry its crew around the Moon and back.
Translunar injection burn performance and Orion trajectory
The translunar injection burn marked the mission’s most consequential maneuver to date. Orion’s main engine, capable of producing up to 6,000 pounds of thrust, fired as planned, pushing the spacecraft onto a path toward the Moon.
At the time of ignition, Orion had a mass of about 58,000 pounds. During the burn, it consumed roughly 1,000 pounds of propellant, according to NASA mission data.
The maneuver required precise timing and alignment. Even small deviations could shift the spacecraft’s trajectory over the distance between Earth and the Moon.
With the burn complete, Orion is no longer bound to low Earth orbit. It is now traveling along a translunar path that will bring the crew into the Moon’s vicinity in the coming days.
The milestone places Artemis II alongside historic missions such as Apollo 17, which marked the last time astronauts traveled beyond Earth orbit.
Crew operations, exercise systems, and onboard experiments
As Orion moves deeper into space, the crew has begun settling into daily operations designed for long-duration missions.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch are joined by Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.
The astronauts are using a compact flywheel exercise device to maintain physical conditioning. The system relies on a cable-based mechanism that provides resistance based on applied force, supporting both aerobic and strength exercises. It can generate loads of up to 400 pounds while weighing only about 30 pounds, a design suited to the mass constraints of deep space missions.
By comparison, exercise equipment aboard the International Space Station weighs several thousand pounds and occupies far more space. Orion’s system is designed to deliver similar benefits in a much smaller footprint.
During exercise sessions, ground teams monitored Orion’s air revitalization system, which regulates oxygen, carbon dioxide, and cabin conditions. Engineers also assessed how crew movement affects spacecraft stability.
The crew has also completed checks on the AVATAR scientific payload, part of the mission’s broader research objectives.
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Artemis II Update-7, Day 2 : Orion completes Translunar Injection burn , crew begins journey to Moon added by Sridhar P on
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