Artemis II Day 4: Manual Flight in Deep Space, Lunar Flyby Preparations, Easter Message

Astronauts exceeded more than two-thirds of their journey from the Earth to the moon on April 4.

The Orion spacecraft named Integrity is captured by a camera mounted on one of its solar array wings as it flies to the moon, seen in the background, on April 4, 2026. (Screenshot/NASA).

HOUSTON—NASA astronaut Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen have become the first people in more than 50 years to manually fly a spacecraft in deep space.

Hansen took the pilot seat on the Orion spacecraft Integrity just after 9 p.m. ET on April 4. Koch first took the position to her crewmate’s right, and then swapped roles with him more than 10 minutes later.