The four Artemis astronauts have fired up their spacecraft’s engine to break away from Earth’s orbit towards the Moon, a milestone that commits NASA to the first crewed lunar flyby in more than half a century
The four Artemis astronauts have fired up their spacecraft’s engine to break away from Earth’s orbit towards the Moon, a milestone that commits NASA to the first crewed lunar flyby in more than half a century
With enough thrust to accelerate a stationary car to motorway driving speed in less than three seconds, the Orion capsule engine blasted the astronauts on their trajectory towards the Moon, which they now will loop as part of the ten-day Artemis II mission.
The burn lasting just under six minutes propelled the astronauts on their three-day voyage towards Earth’s natural satellite, the first since 1972.
Looks like a good burn, we’re confirming,” mission control in Houston said.
“The crew is feeling pretty good up here on our way to the Moon,” said astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
“Humanity has once again shown what we are capable of,” he added.
The burn came one day after the orange-and-white Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carrying the Orion capsule.
blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the long-anticipated journey around the Moon.
Now that they are moon bound, there is no turning back: the astronauts are on a “free-return” trajectory, which uses the Moon’s gravity to slingshot around it before heading back towards Earth without propulsion.
In the event that something goes wrong, the astronauts are wearing suits that also serve as “survival systems” – in the unlikely case of a cabin depressurisation or leak, they will maintain oxygen, temperature controls and the correct pressure for up to six days.
The astronauts – Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Hansen – spent their first hours in space performing checks and troubleshooting minor problems on the spacecraft that has never carried humans before, including a communications issue and a malfunctioning toilet.
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