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 is expected at 7:49 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 2, 2026, and mission control says it will accelerate the Orion spacecraft out of Earth’s gravitational pull and onto a free return trajectory back to Earth for splashdown.
Who Decided the Course
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. The maneuver is described as the point that separates a crew in Earth’s orbit from one on a quarter-million-mile journey, a line no human has crossed since 1972.
The mission is a 10-day space journey and marks the first time astronauts will return to the vicinity of the moon in more than 50 years. It aims to send the crew farther from Earth than any human has ever gone, surpassing the Apollo program’s distance record.
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 Mission Carries
On Thursday, April 2, 2026, the crew was awakened by mission control with the song “Sleepyhead” by Young & Sick for their first sleep segment and “Green Light” by John Legend for their second wake-up call. They 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. Jeremy Hansen brought 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, as 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 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 Wider Space Push
Former President Barack Obama praised the launch in a post on X, calling it “inspiring” and stating, “Our space program has always captured an essential part of what it means to reach beyond what we thought was possible, and I hope the four brave astronauts on this mission will inspire a new generation to follow in their footsteps.” He noted it was the first crewed flight around the moon since 1972, though the Apollo 17 mission landed on the lunar surface on December 11, 1972.
American Airlines passenger Jane Clukey captured footage of the launch from her plane window while flying from St. Croix to Charlotte, North Carolina, describing it as “a neat moment for everyone on the plane to come together and celebrate human achievement.”
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.”
This echoes the experience of Apollo 8 astronauts, whose communications blackout was described as “rather depressing” by Apollo-era retrofire officer Jerry Bostick. Apollo flight director Glynn Lunney suggested a break, and Bostick responded, “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, such as 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.
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,” new seeds from the Canadian Space Agency, and 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.