Nasa’s Artemis astronauts zoom towards moon after fixing toilet malfunction
After troubleshooting minor technical glitches, the four-person crew leave Earth’s orbit for a journey further into deep space than ever before
Four Artemis astronauts were zooming towards the moon on Thursday after a major engine firing, a milestone that commits Nasa to the first crewed lunar fly-by in more than half a century.
With enough thrust to accelerate a stationary car to highway driving speed in less than three seconds, the Orion capsule engine blasted the astronauts on their trajectory towards the moon, which they now will loop as part of the 10-day Artemis II mission.
“Human beings have left Earth orbit” for the first time since 1972, said Nasa official Lori Glaze at a briefing in Houston following the nearly six-minute burn.
In the moments that followed what the US space agency dubbed a “flawless” firing, astronaut Jeremy Hansen said that “humanity has once again shown what we are capable of”.
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Later on the astronauts said they were “glued to the window” taking pictures.