NASA said the Orion spacecraft, operating as part of the Artemis II mission, has left Earth orbit and set course for the Moon.
At 7:49 PM Eastern Time, the crew fired the main engine for 5 minutes 50 seconds—the burn provided the acceleration needed to place the spacecraft on a translunar trajectory.
After the maneuver that placed Orion on its lunar trajectory was completed, NASA specialists began preparing the program for observations of the Moon’s surface. The crew will follow it during a six-hour observation session scheduled for Monday, April 6.