On Thursday, NASA proudly announced that the Artemis II spacecraft had successfully executed its engine burn, effectively propelling it out of Earth’s orbit. This marks a significant milestone as the first mission to venture towards the moon since 1972, carrying astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

In a poignant moment from mission control in Houston, a message was conveyed to the crew by Birch: “When the engine ignites, you embark on humanity’s lunar homecoming arc and set the course to return Integrity and her crew safely home.” Responding to this, astronaut Christina Koch remarked, “With this burn to the moon, we do not leave Earth, we choose it.”

The precise engine burn, which occurred shortly before 8 PM, lasted just under six minutes. This maneuver sets the crew on a free-return trajectory, an orbit that cleverly utilizes the gravitational forces of both the Earth and the moon to guide the spacecraft around the moon and back to Earth.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman confirmed this achievement on social media, stating, “Nominal translunar injection burn complete. The Artemis II crew is officially on the way to the Moon.”

The burn just before 8pm lasted just under six minutes and sends the crew into free-return trajectory, which relies on the Earth and the moon’s gravity guiding the ship around the moon and back to Earth. 

‘Nominal translunar injection burn complete. The Artemis II crew is officially on the way to the Moon,’ NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote on X. 

‘America is back in the business of sending astronauts to the Moon. This time, farther than ever before.’

After it was completed, Hansen said: ‘Humanity has once again shown what we are capable of, and it’s your hopes for the future that carry us now on this journey around the moon.’ 

According to NASA, the burn used the orbital maneuvering system engine to provide around 6,000 pounds of thrust, which is enough to accelerate a car from 0 to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds. 

‘Meanwhile, back at Kennedy Space Center, the teams are out at the pad getting ready for what comes next. We are going to get into a rhythm of launching Moon rockets around here,’ Isaacman said on X.

Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight captured breathtaking footage of the lunar mission launch as it happened on Wednesday. 

Artemis II launched from the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday evening, as one Southwest Airlines passenger captured incredible footage of the rocket soaring through the sky

Chris Pappas’ video captured the clear blue skies, with only the plane’s wing in view until a line of smoke was seen trailing behind the flaming rocket in the distance

Chris Pappas was among travelers who spotted the rocket leaving the Earth’s surface as he peered out of the window and captured the scene on video. 

The footage captured the clear blue skies, with only the plane’s wing in view until a line of smoke was seen trailing behind the flaming rocket in the distance. 

Within seconds, the rocket had shot well beyond the plane’s view and disappeared into the sky above – leaving only the trail of smoke in the air behind it. 

‘Most insane experience,’ Pappas wrote on Instagram Threads. ‘[Southwest Airlines] pilots understood the assignment.’

The video garnered over 65,000 likes, with users astonished at the incredible view. 

‘I would be sobbing because this timing is unreal,’ one user commented. 

Another user in awe of the footage wrote: ‘That is the best perspective ever. You actually see how f***ing fast it goes up. The perspective scale is not understood seeing it either live on TV or on the ground. Seeing it from the “side” like this, though… amazing video. So lucky.’

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (left), Victor Glover (second left), Christina Koch (second right) and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen (right)

Artemis II entered space just four minutes into its historic journey to the moon as crowds of fans watched across Florida

‘Oh my gosh, that is AMAAAAZING. What an incredible experience, I didn’t even imagine a plane would be flying around that area at all, but I guess you’re actually so far away,’ a third comment said. 

‘When I was watching the launch earlier, I was already so, so, so excited to see one of these. I’m so jealous. This is an incredible video and thank you for sharing.’ 

Other users were amazed that flights were able to share airspace during the historic moment. 

‘Why were you all flying so close to the launch? Very cool view but seems a little close for comfort,’ one wrote. 

‘I’m shocked that an aircraft was allowed into that airspace,’ another said, while many other users pointed out that the launch was seen as far as 100 miles away. 

‘That isn’t nearly as close as it seems. A launch can be seen from a long way away,’ one pointed out. ‘My son sent pictures of the launch from the Air Force base in Tampa Bay, over 100 miles away and from the ground.’  

Artemis II will travel approximately 250,000 miles from Earth, the farthest any human has ever gone in history

Artemis II took off in a blaze of glory on its mission to the moon from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday.

It is the furthest space exploration mission undertaken in human history, coming 57 years after American astronauts first set foot on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.

The countdown began at 4.44pm EST this afternoon with the rocket taking off at 6.35pm EST. Optimal weather allowed for the launch to be cleared, with backup windows scheduled through the week until April 6.

The ten-day journey saw the astronauts launch into orbit and then separate their Orion spacecraft from the launch vehicle, break out of low-Earth orbit, circle the moon and then return.

The ten-day journey saw the astronauts launch into orbit and then separate their Orion spacecraft from the launch vehicle, break out of low-Earth orbit, circle the moon and then return

The historic flight is the first step in NASA’s new multi-step to land on the moon by 2028 at the earliest. 

During NASA’s post-launch press conference, space agency chief Jared Isaacman revealed Artemis II suffered a communications issue, preventing NASA from hearing the crew’s messages for a brief time.

Isaacman added that the issue was not affecting the rest of the craft and NASA would be working to figure out what caused the temporary blackout.

‘About 51 minutes into the flight, during a planned handover between satellites, the Orion spacecraft underwent a communications issue, leading to a temporary partial loss,’ Isaacman said at a press conference.

‘The uplink from Cap Com [Capsule Communication] to the crew was being heard by the crew, but we can’t hear the responses for a brief period of time,’ he added, noting the issue has been resolved.

Isaacman said, ‘There were no issues with the vehicle itself. Comms with the crew have been restored. We’re actively working the issue.’

NASA has said the Artemis campaign is about laying the groundwork for future Mars missions, harnessing space’s economic benefits and creating an enduring human presence beyond Earth.

It’s also—as is anything these days in the United States—about heading off China’s own lunar land grab: Washington wants to remain in front of Beijing’s own plans to put a man on the moon by 2030.

But Artemis appears to be the opening step in a much more consequential infrastructure race that also pits Washington against Beijing—a giant leap toward an extraterrestrial AI future.