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NASA’s Artemis II astronauts have fired their engines and are blazing toward the moon.
The so-called translunar ignition came 25 hours after liftoff, putting the three Americans and one Canadian on course for a lunar fly-around early next week.
Their Orion capsule has bolted out of orbit around Earth and chased after the moon nearly 250,000 miles away.
This image taken from video provided by NASA shows the Earth, left, from NASA’s Orion spacecraft as it fired its engines heading toward the moon Thursday, April 2, 2026.
(NASA via AP)
The Canadian Space Agency posted on social media Thursday evening saying that NASA confirmed that all critical systems onboard were in order and that Artemis II could continue its trajectory.
“It’s official! Jeremy Hansen becomes the first Canadian in history to head to the Moon,” the statement from the Canadian Space Agency said.
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Hansen spoke to NASA from inside the Orion capsule minutes after the thruster firing, praising the milestone for humanity.
He said the crew was glued to the windows, calling the view “phenomenal.”
Four astronauts — including Hansen — aboard the Orion spacecraft lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday, shortly after the two-hour launch window opened. Hansen was joined by veteran NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch.
The 10-day mission is expected to take humans the farthest they’ve ever gone before in space and will see humanity travel to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
It’s the first engine firing for a moon crew since Apollo 17 set out on that era’s final moonshot in 1972.
NASA had the Artemis II crew stick close to home for a day to test their capsule’s life-support systems before clearing them for lunar departure.
Experts say Artemis II represents more than just a return to lunar orbit — it could lay the groundwork for deeper space exploration.
–with files from The Associated Press
