The Artemis II astronauts left Earth and went to the moon on Thursday. They used their main engine to go very fast, reaching 24,500 mph. This speed is needed to escape Earth’s pull.
The crew included Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen from Canada. They carefully checked their engine firing, which added 867 mph to their speed. The engine ran for nearly six minutes at a high point of 115 miles above Earth. After the engine stopped, their spacecraft was on a path that would take them around the moon and back to Earth.
Hansen shared the crew’s excitement with mission control in Houston. He said they felt the support of everyone who worked on the Artemis project. Hansen also mentioned the view of Earth from space.
NASA plans to have more moon flights in the future. Artemis II is an important mission. It helps test the spacecraft and plans for future landings on the moon. NASA wants to land astronauts near the moon’s south pole by 2028, with more flights planned next year.
