NASA's Artemis II crew now on their way to the moon after engine burn

(This story has been updated with NASA completing the engine burn.)

NASA completed the engine burn on April 2 that will send the four astronauts of Artemis II on their way around the moon — and deeper into space than any crew in more than 50 years.

Known as the Trans-lunar Injection, or TLI burn, this last major engine burn moved the Orion spacecraft out of Earth orbit and set it on its lunar journey.

The burn occurred at 7:49 p.m. Thursday and lasted five minutes and 52 seconds.

“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,” said acting associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Lori Glaze during the Artemis II mission's second day press briefing.

This burn places Orion into what is called a free-return trajectory, the gravity of the Earth and moon pulling on the spacecraft and directing its path around the moon and then back toward Earth.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote on X on April 2 that the crew was doing great, and the spacecraft was performing as expected.

Isaacman was seen in the back of the room in Houston Mission Control as the time came for the astronauts to leave Earth orbit and commit to the voyage around the moon.

If all goes to plan, the astronauts will splash down in the Pacific Ocean on their 10th flight day.

Glaze reminded everyone that this is still a test flight, and teams are already learning much about how the spacecraft behaves in space with crew onboard. However, no issues have caused any major concerns.

Orion Program manager Howard Hu told journalists that the Orion's life support system is behaving as predicted, sometimes even better.

Fan speed sensors caused a cabin leak false alarm during the trans-lunar injection burn, however teams were able to quickly spot the issue and move forward, NASA said.

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The trans-lunar injection burn used the orbital maneuvering system engine on the spacecraft's European Service Module, which is the area below the spacecraft that provides thrust, power, and life support, to speed up Orion.

This system provided upwards of 6,000 pounds of thrust. According to NASA, this is enough to accelerate a car from 0 to 60 miles per hour in only 2.7 seconds.

The decision to proceed was not one NASA took lightly. Once Orion moved deeper into space, the time to return home would take days.

Artemis II will now head into deep space traveling farther than any astronauts have since the 1972 Apollo 17 mission.  

NASA has big plans for the Artemis program with the goal of a lunar lander docking demonstration in 2027, followed by a moon landing in 2028.

"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 wrote on X.

Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.