There’s no going back now.
The Artemis II astronauts are officially enroute to the Moon after the Orion spacecraft named ‘Integrity’ completed the crucial trans-lunar injection (TLI) burn on April 3, which set it on a course to Earth’s nearest neighbour.
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman announced the successful execution of the TLI at 5:40 am IST on X.
Nominal translunar injection burn complete. The Artemis II crew is officially on the way to the Moon.
America is back in the business of sending astronauts to the Moon. This time, farther than ever before.
— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) April 3, 2026
“Nominal translunar injection burn complete. The Artemis II crew is officially on the way to the Moon. America is back in the business of sending astronauts to the Moon. This time, farther than ever before,” he posted.
NASA completes crucial TLI maneuver
During the TLI, Orion fired its main engine for six minutes, producing 6,000 pounds of thrust to provide the final push to leave Earth’s orbit. NASA launched Artemis II at 4:04 am IST from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on April 2 and the astronauts spent around 25 hours in Earth orbit performing final checks of Orion’s systems before committing to the lunar journey.
The procedure started at 5:19 am IST [7:49 pm EDT] and lasted approximately five minutes and 50 seconds.
“With that successful TLI, the crew is feeling pretty good up here on our way to the moon, and we just wanted to communicate to everyone around the planet who’s worked to make Artemis possible that we firmly felt the power of your perseverance during every second of that burn,” mission specialist and one of the occupants of Orion, Jeremy Hansen radioed after the TLI was complete.
NASA said that the TLI not only sets Orion on the lunar path but also puts it in a free return journey. This will allow the spacecraft to use the Moon’s gravity to return to Earth. Orion will loop around the Moon’s far side once before heading back home in a figure eight pattern.
It’s not a straight shot to the far side of the Moon! 🌕
Over approximately 10 days, the Artemis II astronauts will orbit Earth twice before looping around the far side of the Moon in a figure eight and returning home. pic.twitter.com/udjejhxgVx
— NASA (@NASA) April 2, 2026
This is the first time Orion is flying with humans onboard, and the main objective of this mission is to test its support systems in deep space for future flights. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket which launched the mission also flew with astronauts for the first time.
During an interview with Fox News, Issacman said, “we’re getting good feedback from the astronauts,” who have tried and tested some components of Orion so far like manual piloting and exercise equipment.
Meanwhile, the astronauts have a busy schedule as they prepare to get greeted by the Moon in about three days from now. Artemis II is being commanded by Reid Wiseman, whereas astronauts Victor Glover is the pilot, and Christina Koch the mission specialist, a role she shares with Hansen. The entire mission, according to NASA, will last approximately ten days.
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