**Who Has the Power** Artemis II is preparing for its translunar injection burn, the final major engine firing intended to set the spacecraft on course to circumnavigate the moon. The burn was anticipated to last 5 minutes and 51 seconds and was expected at 7:49 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 2, 2026. Mission control said the engine will provide up to 6,000 pounds of thrust, enough to accelerate a car from zero to 60 miles per hour in approximately 2.7 seconds. That maneuver is what moves the mission from Earth orbit into a quarter-million-mile journey, a line no human has crossed since 1972. The Orion spacecraft will be accelerated to escape Earth’s gravitational pull, sent toward the moon, and placed on a free return trajectory back to Earth for splashdown. The mission is a 10-day space journey. The four astronauts aboard are Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. They launched on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, launch director for NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems program, gave the final “go” for launch, and Jeff Radigan, Artemis II lead flight director, took over at Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center in Houston. **What the Crew Is Living With** On Thursday, April 2, 2026, mission control woke the crew with the song “Sleepyhead” by Young & Sick for their first sleep segment and “Green Light” by John Legend for their second wake-up call. The crew completed a “perigee raise burn,” lasting about one minute, to adjust the Orion spacecraft’s orbital path before the translunar injection burn. The Orion capsule, named Integrity, was approximately 44,000 miles from Earth and 223,000 miles from the moon earlier in the day. Astronauts are scheduled to exercise for 30 minutes daily using a flywheel device to combat bone loss in microgravity. Hygiene in space involves rinseless shampoo, waterless soap, and swallowing toothpaste or spitting into a towel. Meals include shelf-stable options like barbecued beef brisket, broccoli au gratin, and macaroni and cheese, with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen bringing maple products, salmon bites, and curry. Flavor enhancers such as chocolate spread, jam, honey, cinnamon, spicy mustard, and five hot sauces are also on board, since human tastebuds are dulled in space. Tortillas and wheat flatbread are used to prevent crumbs. Commander Reid Wiseman and Mission Specialist Christina Koch commented on the “spectacular views of Earth,” with Koch noting details like rivers and thunderclouds. Issues reported included “high air flow volume and just cold air” in the cabin, which mission control adjusted, and problems with the “gain” on GoPro cameras and iPhones. An earlier issue with the toilet was resolved, with mission control assuring the crew, “You are good to use the toilet all night.” **The Moon, the Record, and the Machinery Behind It** The mission marks the first time astronauts will return to the vicinity of the moon in more than 50 years, aiming to travel farther from Earth than any human ever has and surpass the Apollo program’s distance record. During the mission, the Artemis II astronauts will experience communications blackouts, particularly during the 45-minute period when they are closest to the moon’s far side. Pilot Victor Glover said in a September 2025 news conference, “I would love if the entire world would be praying for us to get the acquisition of signal and be back in touch,” adding, “It won’t fix everything — but it would remind us that we can do challenging and very big and very important things when we work together.” The mission’s communications blackout echoes the experience of Apollo 8 astronauts, whose blackout was described as “rather depressing” by Apollo-era retrofire officer Jerry Bostick. Apollo flight director Glynn Lunney suggested a break, and Bostick replied, “that’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard. How can you take a break when the spacecraft and the guys are around the dark side of the moon?” Bostick later called regaining signal “one of the happiest moments of my life.” The mission aims to address lunar mysteries, including the global asymmetry between the moon’s near and far sides. On Day 6, Orion will conduct a roughly three-hour flyby of the far side of the moon, making its closest approach at about 4,112 statute miles above the lunar surface, and the crew will send photos back to Earth to help determine future landing sites. A key goal for future missions is landing near the lunar south pole to investigate water ice. The delay in returning humans to the moon for over 50 years is attributed to a lack of sustained political will, according to Teasel Muir-Harmony, a science and technology historian and curator of the Apollo Collection at the Smithsonian, and Les Johnson, a former NASA Chief Technologist. Brian Odom, NASA’s Chief Historian, said the rise of a commercial space industry, including SpaceX, Boeing, and Blue Origin, has been an enabling factor, with commercial, international, and government commitments working together. **What They Put on the Rocket** About 10 pounds of memorabilia are aboard Orion, including a 1-inch square of muslin fabric from the Wright Flyer (1903), an American flag that flew on the first space shuttle mission (1981), the final shuttle mission (2011), and the first crewed test flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft (2020). Also included are a flag originally for the cancelled Apollo 18 mission, a negative from a photo captured by the Ranger 7 mission (1964), soil samples from “moon trees” and new seeds from the Canadian Space Agency, plus names submitted by millions on an SD card. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, “Historical artifacts flying aboard Artemis II reflect the long arc of American exploration and the generations of innovators who made this moment possible. This mission will bring together pieces of our earliest achievements in aviation, defining moments from human spaceflight, and symbols of where we’re headed next.” Key mission timeline events include a CPR demonstration and Deep Space Network communications test on Day 3, a review of image capture plans on Day 4, entering the lunar sphere of influence and emergency spacesuit practice on Day 5, the lunar far side flyby on Day 6, exiting lunar influence and crew observations on Day 7, demonstrations of radiation shielding, manual piloting, and compression garment testing on Days 8-9, and splashdown off the coast of California on Day 10.
