Artemis II Translunar Injection Burn

art002m1200922349 (April 2, 2026) - One last near view of Earth rolls by between the Orion spacecraft and one of its solar array wings, during the translunar injection burn that allowed Orion to leave the Earth behind and set off for the Moon on the Artemis II mission. Orion fired its main engine for five minutes and 50 seconds on April 2, in a burn that will not only send it around the Moon, but also return it to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.