Four astronauts aboard NASA's Artemis II mission have officially left Earth's orbit and begun humanity's first journey into deep space in 54 years. The crew's Orion spacecraft fired its main engine for five minutes and 55 seconds in what NASA called a "flawless" translunar injection burn, propelling them on a path that will carry them around the Moon's far side — a region no human has ever seen with their own eyes.
The historic engine burn marked the end of roughly 24 hours spent in what NASA termed a "stretched-out high Earth orbit," during which controllers thoroughly tested Orion's engines, navigation systems, and life support equipment. Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Christina Koch, mission specialists Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen — the first non-American to travel toward the Moon — are now on a free-return trajectory that uses lunar gravity to slingshot around the Moon and back to Earth.
"We firmly felt the power" of everyone who worked on the mission, Hansen told NASA mission control after the burn. The Canadian astronaut's words came as Earth slowly shrank in Orion's windows, the spacecraft moving farther into space with each passing moment.
The crew will travel more than 4,700 miles beyond the Moon — potentially breaking the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970, depending on precise timing and trajectory details. NASA estimates show this could mark the farthest humans have ever ventured from Earth.
First Views from Deep Space
In their first public video conference since launch, the astronauts described being "glued to the window" as spectacular views unfolded before them. "You can see the entire globe from pole to pole," Wiseman said. "It was the most spectacular moment and it paused all four of us in our tracks."
According to BBC News, the visual experience will only become more dramatic as Orion surges deeper into space. Earth will shrink to a small blue and white marble behind them while the Moon grows from a bright disc into a heavily cratered world filling their view. On approximately the sixth day of their mission, as they cruise beyond the Moon, the astronauts will witness a total solar eclipse — the Moon sliding directly in front of the Sun to reveal its normally hidden corona, with Earth hanging in space nearby.
The translunar injection represents a critical milestone, but NASA emphasizes it's not a point of no return. Mission controllers retain the ability to execute what amounts to a handbrake turn in space, bringing the crew back to Earth if serious problems arise. In emergency scenarios during the first 36 hours after the burn, a U-turn provides the fastest route home. After that window, staying on course around the Moon often proves just as quick and simpler.
Journey to Uncharted Territory
The far side of the Moon — permanently facing away from Earth due to tidal locking — represents truly uncharted territory for human eyes. While robotic missions have photographed and mapped this region extensively, no astronauts have directly observed its ancient, heavily cratered landscape shaped by billions of years of asteroid impacts without Earth's protective influence.
NASA has made real-time tracking available through an online tracker and mobile app, allowing the public to monitor Orion's location, speed, and distance from both Earth and Moon. The space agency shared early images of Earth taken from the spacecraft as it circled the planet in high orbit before the lunar departure burn.
While Artemis II won't land on the lunar surface — that milestone awaits a potential 2028 mission — the current flight serves as an essential proving ground for systems and procedures that will eventually return humans to the Moon's surface for the first time since Apollo 17 in December 1972.
Program manager Howard Hu appeared jubilant at post-burn briefings, telling reporters simply: "What a great couple of days!" The successful engine firing represents years of preparation and testing finally coming together as humanity takes its next step toward becoming a spacefaring civilization.