Artemis II spacecraft leaves Earth orbit, heads toward Moon

The Orion spacecraft of NASA's Artemis II mission left Earth orbit Thursday and began its journey toward the Moon, marking the first crewed departure from Earth's orbit in more than 50 years.

The spacecraft's main engine fired for approximately six minutes to execute what officials called a translunar injection burn. During this critical maneuver, the crew, commanded by Reid Wiseman, supervised the engine ignition as the spacecraft traversed the lowest point of a highly elliptical orbit. The burn added 867 miles per hour to the spacecraft's already elevated orbital velocity, bringing the total speed to 24,500 miles per hour—the velocity required to escape Earth's gravitational pull.

The engine change of velocity took 5 minutes and 49 seconds to complete, according to officials. The maneuver placed the Artemis II crew officially on course for the Moon, where they will conduct a flyby as part of a 10-day mission. The crew will not land on the lunar surface during this mission but will travel around it before returning to Earth.

The translunar injection represents a significant milestone for NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon. The last crewed mission to leave Earth orbit occurred in 1972, making Thursday's burn a historic achievement for the space agency and its astronauts.