A breathtaking view of Earth from NASA’s Orion spacecraft highlights the early moments of the Artemis II mission, as the vehicle orbits above the planet on its historic journey. NASA astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch, alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, launched at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1, 2026, beginning an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back.

Editor’s Note: This update includes revised timing for the upcoming translunar injection burn.

The mission has already reached an important milestone with the successful completion of the perigee raise burn—an essential orbital maneuver conducted in the early hours of flight.

Following a short rest period, the crew was awakened to oversee Orion’s systems during the operation. Ground control initiated the wake-up call at 7:06 a.m. EDT with the song “Sleepyhead” by Young and Sick.

During the maneuver, Orion’s service module main engine fired for 43 seconds, lifting the spacecraft’s lowest orbital point and fine-tuning its trajectory as it continued circling Earth. This precise adjustment placed Orion—named Integrityby the crew—into a stable high Earth orbit, perfectly aligned for its next phase: the journey to the Moon.

After completing the maneuver, the astronauts returned to a scheduled rest period before beginning their first full operational day in space.

Later today, mission managers will hold their first formal review, carefully evaluating spacecraft performance and systems. Their approval is required for the next critical step: the translunar injection burn, which will send the crew beyond Earth’s orbit for the first time since 1972.

If approved, the maneuver is scheduled for 7:49 p.m. EDT and will last nearly six minutes. It will generate a velocity increase of 1,272 feet per second—powering Orion out of Earth orbit and setting it on its course toward the Moon.

Throughout the burn, flight controllers will closely track engine performance, navigation, and guidance data to ensure the spacecraft remains precisely on trajectory for its historic deep-space journey.