What Happened
Earth’s crescent is seen from a solar array camera on the Orion spacecraft on the first flight day of the Artemis II mission.Credit: NASA For the first time in more than 50 years, astronauts on a NASA mission are bound to fly around the Moon after successfully completing a key burn of Orion’s main engine.
Why It Matters
With the approximately six-minute firing of the spacecraft’s service module engine on Thursday, known as the translunar injection burn, Orion and its crew of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen accelerated to break free of Earth’s orbit and began the outbound trajectory toward Earth’s nearest neighbor.
Key Details
- “Today, for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, humans have departed Earth orbit.
- Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy now are on a precise trajectory toward the Moon.
- Orion is operating with crew for the first time in space, and we are gathering critical data, and learning from each step,” said Dr.
- Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Background Context
Earth’s crescent is seen from a solar array camera on the Orion spacecraft on the first flight day of the Artemis II mission.Credit: NASA For the first time in more than 50 years, astronauts on a NASA mission are bound to fly around the Moon after successfully completing a key burn of Orion’s main engine. With the approximately six-minute firing of the spacecraft’s service module engine on Thursday, known as the translunar injection burn, Orion and its crew of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen accelerated to break free of Earth’s orbit and began the outbound trajectory toward Earth’s nearest neighbor. “T
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Source: NASA – Original Link
Source: NASA