The Artemis II mission has left Earth orbit after successfully completing the key ignition of the Orion spacecraft's main engine, according to NASA. The spacecraft is now heading towards the Moon.
For the first time in more than 50 years, NASA astronauts will once again fly over the satellite. After an ignition of about six minutes of the service module engine —the well-known translunar injection maneuver—, Orion and its crew managed to accelerate enough to break free from Earth's orbit and set course towards the lunar environment.
On board travel astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen, of the Canadian Space Agency.
“Today, for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, humans have left Earth's orbit. Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy are now on a precise trajectory toward the Moon. Orion is operating with a crew for the first time in space, and we are collecting crucial data and learning from every step”, Lori Glaze stated from the agency's headquarters in Washington.
Glaze has stressed that each milestone reached “represents significant progress on the path forward for the Artemis program” and added: “While we have eight days of intense work ahead, this is a momentous occasion and we are proud to share it with the world.”
The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, in the early hours of Thursday, beginning a ten-day test flight around the Moon and back to Earth.
After reaching space, Orion deployed its four solar panels to power itself with the Sun's energy, while the crew and ground teams began the transition to flight operations and the verification of key systems.
