For the first time in decades, a crewed spacecraft is heading beyond Earth. not just traveling into deep space, but also it’s staying in touch with human here on Earth.
Orion is on its way, bringing four humans towards the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
From this point, Artemis II is on a long, looping path that has been estimated to carry the crew farther from Earth than anyone has ever travelled, swinging around the far side of the Moon before gravity guides them home.
Over the next few days, the views outside their windows will become steadily more inspirational and beautiful.
Earth shrinking to a small blue white marble behind them and the Moon growing from a bright disc into a heavily cratered world filling the frame.
On about the sixth day of the mission, as Orion cruises beyond the Moon, the astronauts are expected to witness a total solar eclipse from deep space – the Moon sliding directly in front of the Sun so its bright face is completely covered and the delicate halo of the solar corona flares into view, with Earth hanging off to one side.
The crew are set to capture this unique sight in images and video beamed back to us at home.
We’re closing our live coverage as the four astronauts on board the Orion spacecraft get ever closer to the Moon.
In the latest of nervy moments for the crew and ground team supporting them, the Artemis II mission was able to successfully execute a trans-lunar injection.
“I am so excited to be able to tell you that for the first time since 1972 during Apollo 17, human beings have left Earth orbit,” relieved Nasa scientist Dr Lori Graze told reporters, after the critical engine burn boosted the astronauts towards the far side of the Moon.
Bobbing about at zero gravity, the crew were inspired by their journey so far as commander Reid Wiseman described the “spectacular moment” of seeing “the entire globe from pole to pole” – we’ve got a full roundup on the team’s other comments on toilet troubles, sleeping, and uniting behind the mission.
Two days into its mission, the Orion spacecraft carrying the crew is being put to the test, and passing, our science correspondent writes.
The Artemis II mission is expected to fly around the Moon on 6 April and we’ll be back with live coverage, but until then:
This Artemis II mission is hoping to break the record for the furthest humans have travelled from Earth – by flying potentially more than 270,000 miles.
This would break the previous record (248,655 miles) set nearly 56 years ago by the Apollo 13 team.
The difference this time around is this record attempt is deliberate.The Apollo 13 mission is known by Nasa as the “successful failure”.
On April 11, 1970 when the Saturn V rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Centre the plan was to achieve humanity’s third lunar landing.After some initial early issues during launch, the mission was proceeding well. Joe Kerwin, the capsule communicator who was part of Mission Control back in Houston, declared he was “bored to tears”.Just minutes later, one of the oxygen tanks exploded and the astronauts could see the valuable gas needed for their survival leaking out into space.The explosion also damaged other equipment and affected the use of the fuel cells – potentially affecting their power and water supply.They could no longer land on the Moon instead they did a free-return-to-Earth trajectory. Just as Artemis II will now do, slingshotting themselves round the far side of the Moon and back to Earth.More than 50 years have passed since America’s Apollo missions landed humans on the Moon for the first time in July 1969.And, while Nasa’s Artemis II crew won’t make a lunar landing themselves, their mission over the next few days will to pave the way for the next human footsteps on the Moon.During their trip the four astronauts will fly 6,400 miles (10,299km) beyond the far side of the Moon, which always faces away from the Earth – marking the first time this has taken place.Nasa says that during this three-hour period, the crew will “analyse and photograph geologic features, such as impact craters and ancient lava flow”, which will help future missions to explore the Moon’s South Pole region.Studies on the astronauts’ health will also help Nasa to better understand how deep space travel influences the human mind and body, protecting astronauts on future lunar missions as well as travel to Mars.If the crew pass safely around the Moon on this trip, Nasa’s goal is for Artemis IV and V to become lunar landing missions – and is aiming for both to happen in 2028.Nasa hopes the Artemis II mission will mark a step towards a lunar landing for astronauts as soon as 2028 – and to even establishing a base on the Moon in years to come.And, speaking to the BBC, former Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki says the mission shows national space agencies are now “building together with international co-operation” towards the same goals.When Nasa’s Apollo 11 mission became the first to land on the Moon in 1969, it marked the end of a competitive space race between the US and USSR to put the first human footprints on the Moon’s surface.Now that race is over, Yamazaki says modern collaboration has encouraged a focus on the development of “sustainable infrastructure on the Moon”.She says that’s why Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen is among the three Americans on board Artemis II, adding this is a “great symbol for international co-operation”.A ten-day journey is expected to take the Artemis II crew further than any human has been before, as they attempt to gather more information about the Moon – paving the way for a future lunar landing.As the graphic below shows, the crew aboard the Orion spacecraft have now completed step four, and are hurtling towards the far side of the Moon.We’re expecting the astronauts to fly around the Moon on 6 April.
As Orion journeys farther from planet earth, its communication with NASA’s Deep Space Network has delivered human beings’ first glimpse of Earth from such a mission, enabling NASA to experience the mission as it unfolds in real time.
Artemis II lifted off on April 1, carrying humans beyond Earth orbit and back toward the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era.
The Trajectory
The mission follows a precisely calculated free return trajectory, sending the spacecraft toward the Moon, using its gravity to curve around it, and bringing it back to Earth without the need for a major engine burn.
It is one of the safest paths in spaceflight, designed so that even in an emergency, the natural motion of the orbit helps guide the crew home.
This is not just a simple path through space, it is a perfect balance of gravity, speed, and timing working together. This mission is more than a test flight, it marks the moment humanity steps back into deep space.
This is the first image of Earth captured by Artemis II from space that clearly shows EARTH is NOT FLAT.
The Apollo 11 Moon Landing Of 1969
In 1969, humanity took its first step onto another world and proved that reaching the Moon was possible.
That moment changed history forever.Now, more than 50 years later, we’ve witnessed Artemis II launch—carrying astronauts beyond low Earth orbit once again.
From Apollo to Artemis, the technology has evolved, the spacecraft have changed, but the spirit remains exactly the same—bold, fearless, and driven by the desire to explore.
