Moon-Bound: Artemis II Leaving Earth Orbit on Historic Mission

The ‘trans-lunar injection burn’ is sending four astronauts on their flight around the moon.

A view of the Earth from NASA's Orion spacecraft as it orbits above the planet during the Artemis II test flight, on April 2, 2026. NASA via AP

HOUSTON—For the first time in more than 50 years, astronauts set off on a course away from Earth orbit to fly around the moon.

At approximately 7:50 p.m. ET on April 2, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen fired their spacecraft’s main engine, committing themselves to leaving the bonds of Earth and heading for the moon.