Artemis astronauts blast towards Moon

Four Artemis astronauts were zooming towards the Moon late Thursday after a major engine firing, a milestone that commits NASA to the first crewed lunar flyby in more than half a century.

With enough thrust to accelerate a stationary car to highway driving speed in less than three seconds, the Orion capsule engine blasted the astronauts on their trajectory towards the Moon, which they will now loop as part of the 10-day Artemis 2 mission.

In the moments that followed what the U.S. space agency dubbed a "flawless" firing that lasted just under six minutes, astronaut Jeremy Hansen said that "humanity has once again shown what we are capable of."

The astronauts said they were "glued to the window," taking pictures, and later passed a floating microphone back and forth as they took questions from U.S. television networks.

They said the spacecraft was a little chilly and they were still making it a home, but the crew was all smiles.

"There's nothing that prepares you for the breathtaking aspect of seeing your home planet both lit up bright as day, and also the Moon glow on it at night with the beautiful beam of the sunset," said Christina Koch.

Thursday's nudge came one day after the enormous orange-and-white Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carrying the Orion capsule launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the long-anticipated journey around the Moon.

The astronauts are now on a "free-return" trajectory, which uses the Moon's gravity to slingshot around it before heading back towards Earth without propulsion.

"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," NASA official Lori Glaze said.

The astronauts are wearing suits that also serve as "survival systems" -- in the unlikely case of a cabin depressurization or leak, they'll maintain oxygen, temperature controls, and the correct pressure for up to six days.

The astronauts -- Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Koch, along with Canadian Hansen -- spent their first hours in space performing checks and troubleshooting minor problems on the spacecraft that has never carried humans before, including a communications issue and a malfunctioning toilet.

Queried on the toilet situation, Koch said she was "proud to call myself the space plumber.”

"I like to say that it is probably the most important piece of equipment on board," she said. "So we were all breathing a sigh of relief when it turned out to be just fine."

AFP