Artemis II astronauts rocket toward the moon after spending a day around Earth

Photo: Artemis II Launch on April 1, 2026. Photo Credit: NASA / Bill Ingalls. Article by Marcia Dunn. AP News – updated April 2, 2026.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s Artemis II astronauts fired their engines and blazed toward the moon Thursday night, breaking free of the chains that have trapped humanity in shallow laps around Earth in the decades since Apollo. The so-called translunar injection came 25 hours after liftoff, putting the three Americans and a Canadian on course for a lunar fly-around early next week. Their Orion capsule bolted out of orbit around Earth right on cue and chased after the moon nearly 250,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) away. […]

Click here to view original web page at www.apnews.com