Artemis II already gliding to the Moon!
Washington, Apr 2 (EFE).-
NASA confirmed Thursday that the translunar injection burn for the Artemis II mission was completed successfully, setting the crew on course for the moon, despite encountering minor issues that officials said did not jeopardize the flight.
The agency acknowledged that during the early phases of the Orion spacecraft’s operations there were technical adjustments and a brief communications interruption — since resolved — but insisted there were no current concerns. The crew received two caution indicators on their screens but determined they required no action and proceeded with the burn.
Officials emphasized that the burn, which lasted five minutes and 49 seconds, was executed flawlessly. “From this point forward, the laws of orbital mechanics are going to carry our crew to the moon, around the far side and back to Earth,” said Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, at a post-burn press briefing. It marks the last major engine firing of the mission.
About 50 minutes after liftoff there was a temporary loss of communication with the Orion capsule, but that issue has been resolved, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said during a news conference Wednesday night. The exact cause of the disruption was still being investigated, but it was not considered a major issue.
Glaze said the crew is healthy and spacecraft systems are performing as expected. During the first days of the flight, astronauts conducted a range of onboard tests, including verification of key systems such as the water supply, toilet and carbon dioxide removal devices, as well as manual control maneuvers that will provide data for future missions.
“Glaze also shared that the crew is healthy, the spacecraft is performing well,” she said, adding that it remains a test flight and that mission teams are learning as they go.
On April 6, when the Orion passes the far side of the moon, the crew will be more than 400,000 kilometers (248,500 miles) from Earth, breaking Apollo 13’s human spaceflight distance record.
Artemis II is the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972 that human beings have left Earth orbit. The crew consists of commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch, all NASA astronauts, along with Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.
The Artemis program aims to establish a permanent U.S. presence on the moon, with NASA also setting the conditions for eventual human exploration of Mars. EFE
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