See what the next few days hold for NASA astronauts
Four astronauts are in orbit around Earth and will soon be hurtling toward the moon, but first they will test their spacecraft relatively close to home.
While Artemis II orbits Earth, it is 115 miles away at its closest point and about 46,000 miles away at its farthest point. The crew is testing life support systems and practicing Orion’s manual operations and docking abilities. The mission, which successfully launched on April 1 at 6:35 p.m. ET, is the second in a program that will eventually land astronauts on the moon and build a base there.
Here’s what’s going on with Artemis II and what’s next.
Artemis II is headed to the moon as of Thursday, April 2nd at 8pm ET.
Approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes into the mission, Artemis separated from its Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS).
Now that ICPS’s job of propelling Orion is done, its next purpose was to serve as a target for the crew, according to NASA. The crew practiced operating Orion in manual mode, using the ICPS as a stand-in for the spacecraft Orion would dock with on future missions. NASA announced that the mission was a success.
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During the manual short-range maneuver, which lasted approximately 70 minutes, the crew guided the spacecraft through a series of controlled entry and exit maneuvers.
Once the test was complete, the crew performed an automatic departure burn to safely retreat from the ICPS. Approximately 15 minutes after separation, ICPS performed its own waste burn and began its path to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up over the Pacific Ocean.
After ICPS returned to Earth and spent more than eight hours in space, the astronauts went to bed. Their rest was interrupted to test the emergency communications system in the farthest part of orbit.
NASA gives permission to send Artemis II to the moon
As the Lunar Injection (TLI) milestone approaches, all eyes will be on Artemis II.
NASA has given the green light for the final major engine burn that will officially move the Orion spacecraft out of Earth’s orbit. The crew will ignite Orion’s main engine and pick up speed for the 230,000-mile journey to the moon. They are expected to move faster than any human in history.
The burn is scheduled for Thursday, April 2, at approximately 7:49 p.m., and will last 5 minutes and 51 seconds.
Artemis has faced multiple setbacks due to technical problems, including a hydrogen leak that required the giant rocket to be brought back for repairs. But these are short delays compared to the long wait since the space agency’s last Apollo mission in 1972.
