They completed TLI (Trans-Lunar Injection) yesterday. They are on their way to the moon travelling at nearly 4000 miles an hour (as of this moment 3973 MPH).
It's like I am a kid again.
I am so excited about this mission.
Here's some updates.
Thanks for tuning in.
PS: I think they're eating better than I am!! :-)
NASA's moon mission has begun — here's what's ahead for the Artemis II astronauts
Denise Chow
Wed, April 1, 2026 at 9:04 PM PDT
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA's first crewed moon mission in more than 50 years is underway.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen launched Wednesday evening on a 10-day journey to circle Earth and the moon.
“After a brief, 54-year intermission, NASA is back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Wednesday at a post-launch news briefing.
The launch of the Artemis II mission was the first time that NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft carried human passengers into orbit.
Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen of Canada and pilot Victor Glover, commander Reid Wiseman and mission specialist Christina Koch of the U.S. before the launch at Kennedy Space Center. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
The flight is intended as a step toward a planned moon landing in 2028.
An estimated 250,000 space fans flocked to central Florida to see the Artemis II mission lift off. Though a few minor issues cropped up during the countdown, they were resolved quickly, and the rocket made a stunning ascent through cloudless skies.
Now that the astronauts have reached space, they will have little downtime. For their first 8½ hours in orbit, the crew is tasked with testing out the Orion capsule’s various systems, including the potable water dispenser, the toilet and the air quality control system.
Another crucial test is to practice a docking procedure using the Space Launch System’s upper stage as a target. The technology demonstration will be crucial for future Artemis missions, during which astronauts will need to dock with a commercially built lunar lander before they travel down to the moon’s surface.
On Thursday, NASA will prepare for a major engine burn to send the Orion capsule toward the moon. Called the trans-lunar injection burn (TLI), the crucial maneuver is scheduled to take place roughly 24 hours into the mission. Flight controllers will meet earlier in the day to decide whether to proceed with the burn, which would put the astronauts on an irreversible path around the moon.
“We’re looking to make sure that the life-support systems work, the vehicle’s healthy,” Norm Knight, director of NASA’s Flight Operations Directorate, said after the launch. “Once we commit to TLI, they have to function.”
A three-minute exposure photo shows the Artemis II lunar mission liftoff in Cape Canaveral. (Keegan Barber / NASA)
f all goes according to plan, the Artemis II astronauts will spend the following three days journeying to the moon.
Their next major milestone will come Monday, when they are scheduled to fly around the moon. When they do, they could venture farther from Earth than any humans have before, surpassing the distance record of 248,655 miles set by the Apollo 13 astronauts in 1970.
Over the course of the flyby, the Artemis II astronauts will come within 4,000 to 6,000 miles of the moon’s surface, according to NASA. From that vantage point, the moon should appear about the size of a basketball held at arm’s length.
As the astronauts swing around the moon, they will become the first to see parts of the lunar surface with human eyes. That is because the far side of the moon always faces away from Earth.
After the flyby, the astronauts will spend the final few days of the mission traveling back to Earth. They are scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego on April 10.
Artemis II is a key part of NASA's efforts to return astronauts to the moon and establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface. The agency eventually hopes to build a base on the moon.
People watch the liftoff from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
Next year, NASA aims to launch the Artemis III mission, which will conduct technology demonstrations in low-Earth orbit with the commercially built moon landers. SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing landers to carry NASA astronauts from lunar orbit down to the moon's surface, so the mission could test one or both.
Then, NASA aims to launch the Artemis IV mission sometime in 2028 to land on the moon.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A view of the Earth from NASA’s Orion spacecraft as it orbits above the planet during the Artemis II test flight.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/nasa-shares-1st-images-earth-161301287.htmlArtemis II Flight Day 2: Orion Completes TLI Burn, Crew Begins Journey to the Moon
NASA’s Artemis II crew is on the way to the Moon.
After the mission management team polled “Go” Thursday, NASA’s Orion spacecraft fired its main engine for five minutes and 50 seconds beginning at 7:49 p.m. EDT, to successfully complete the translunar injection (TLI) burn, sending the crew in Orion out of Earth orbit and on a trajectory toward the Moon.
Orion’s main engine provides up to 6,000 pounds of thrust, enough to accelerate a car from 0 to 60 mph in about 2.7 seconds. At the time of the burn, Orion’s mass was 58,000 pounds and burned approximately 1,000 pounds of fuel during the firing.
Crew members also are spending time exercising on the spacecraft’s flywheel exercise device. During exercise, teams on the ground monitored the spacecraft’s air revitalization system, which maintains a breathable, comfortable cabin environment for the crew, and assessed how exercise impacts movement of the spacecraft.
The flywheel uses a simple cable‑based mechanism that supports both aerobic exercises like rowing and resistive movements such as squats and deadlifts. Operating much like a yo‑yo, the device provides resistance proportional to the force applied, allowing loads up to 400 pounds. This capability is especially important in deep space, where astronauts do not have access to the extensive exercise equipment aboard the International Space Station. On the station, crews rely on more than 4,000 pounds of exercise hardware spread across roughly 850 cubic feet. In contrast, Orion’s flywheel weighs just 30 pounds and is about the size of a carry‑on suitcase—meeting the strict mass and volume constraints of deep‑space missions while still supporting crew health and reentry readiness.
The crew members – NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen – have successfully checked out the AVATAR scientific payload.
Engineers also determined that a brief loss of two-way communications between the ground and crew that occurred shortly after the crew reached orbit was due to a ground configuration issue involving the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system. The issue was rectified quickly with no impact to mission operations.
Lunar Science Team Prepares for Flyby
After the TLI burn that sent Orion on its path to the Moon, the lunar science team began building a Lunar Targeting Plan, a guide to what the crew will look at on the Moon’s surface during its approximately six-hour observation on Monday, April 6.
The targeting plan will include documenting features that can help scientists understand how the Moon and solar system formed, such as craters, ancient lava flows, and cracks and ridges created as the Moon’s outer layer slowly shifted over time.
One feature that will be added to the plan is a solar eclipse, which will last for nearly an hour toward the end of the flyby window. During the eclipse, the Sun will be hidden from view as it moves behind the Moon from the perspective of Orion. The crew will see a mostly dark Moon at this time — an opportunity for them to look for flashes of light from meteoroids striking the Moon’s surface, dust lofting above the edge of the Moon, and deep space targets, including planets. While the Sun slides behind the Moon, the crew will observe the solar corona, the Sun’s outermost atmosphere, while it’s visible.
View the latest imagery from the Artemis II mission on our Artemis II Multimedia Resource Page. Please follow @NASAArtemis on X, Facebook, and Instagram for real-time updates. Live coverage of the mission is available on NASA’s YouTube channel.
From hot sauces to cobbler, here’s what Artemis II astronauts are eating
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/hot-sauces-cobbler-artemis-ii-020841735.htmlJane Alvarez-Wertz
Thu, April 2, 2026 at 7:08 PM PDT
3 min read
The crew of Artemis II has officially embarked on their historic mission to slingshot around the moon following a successful launch on Wednesday.
The four-member crew – Mission Spc. Jeremy Hansen, of Canada, Mission Spc. Christina Koch, Commander Reid Wiseman and Pilot Victor Glover – have many important duties on board the Orion capsule, aiding in NASA’s goal of landing humans back on the moon in 2028.
All that hard work will likely cause them to develop an appetite. Thankfully, NASA has developed a food system to support crew health and performance during their flight around the moon — and it’s tastier than you may expect.
There are strict food requirements for Hansen, Koch, Wiseman, and Glover. Since their food can’t be restocked or refrigerated, all meals must be shelf-stable and safe for use in the Orion spacecraft. The Artemis crew tried and ranked items from a standard menu ahead of time.
Because the mission is self-contained, all food must be packed in advance. NASA says space food experts worked with the crew to balance caloric needs and hydration while meeting the spacecraft’s strict mass, volume, and power requirements.
Certain food items can be rehydrated with a potable water dispenser, and a food warmer reminiscent of a briefcase can be used to heat meals as needed. These preparation methods are designed to minimize crumbs and particulates that could interfere with spacecraft systems in microgravity.
Some of the foods picked by the Artemis crew may not surprise you. Cashews, almonds, and granola with blueberries rank among the most common food items. There are 58 tortillas aboard Orion — or, there were when it took off, there’s no word how many have been eaten as of Thursday.
Other popular items include barbecued beef brisket, couscous with nuts, macaroni and cheese, breakfast sausage, and wheat flat bread. For their fruits and veggies, the Artemis crew has opted for mango salad, broccoli au gratin, tropical fruit salad, cauliflower, butternut squash, vegetable quiche and spicy green beans.
There are five hot sauces on the menu as well. Other condiments include maple syrup, chocolate spread, peanut butter, strawberry jam, honey, cinnamon, almond butter and spicy mustard.
When they aren’t craving something spicy, the crew will have sweet options. Cookies and chocolate are the most popular options, NASA reports, but cake, candy-coated almonds, pudding and cobbler are also available.
The astronauts are each allowed two flavored beverages a day, which can include coffee.
According to NASA, it takes 43 cups of coffee to power the Artemis crew. Additional beverage options include green tea, cocoa, three varieties of “breakfast drink” (chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry), mango-peach smoothie, apple cider, pineapple drink and lemonade.
The available menu changes based on the different phases of the flight.
During launch and reentry, the potable water dispenser is not available, for example, so any hungry crew member has to opt for ready-to-eat foods. A broader range of options, including freeze-dried meals that require hydration, is available during the transit phase once the spacecraft’s full preparation systems are operational.
The Artemis crew has time in their schedule for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
NASA manages food storage by packing two to three days of meals for each crew member in a single container. This method provides flexibility by allowing astronauts to choose from several options within that multi-day window.
The Artemis II food system differs from the programs used on previous missions. Astronauts on the International Space Station, for comparison, get regular resupplies and occasionally fresh foods.
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2604.03 - 10:10
- Days ago: MOM = 3928 days ago & DAD = 583 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
