A rocket launched into space from Earth. This rocket was part of NASA’s important mission, Artemis II. After it lifted off, the rocket did not stay straight up. It started to curve as it went higher. This may look strange, but it is necessary for the rocket’s journey.
Rockets face gravity, the force that pulls things down. They start vertically to get as much speed as possible. But staying straight up uses a lot of fuel. If a rocket runs out of fuel, it could fall back to Earth. This would be dangerous for the astronauts and people below. So, rockets need to curve to save fuel and reach space.
When rockets leave the thick part of the atmosphere, they perform a gravity turn. This helps them use gravity to go faster instead of using more fuel. To stay in orbit means balancing speed and gravity. For Artemis II, the spacecraft had to do another move called the translunar injection burn to get to the moon and back safely.
