NASA confirmed on Wednesday (local time) that the Orion spacecraft successfully separated from the rocket’s upper stage as part of the Artemis 2 mission. Proximity operations tests are now underway, the agency said.NASA, which shared video of the separation online, said the astronauts aboard Orion were manually piloting the spacecraft in a manner similar to docking with another spacecraft.
The update came hours after the successful launch of Artemis II, sending astronauts on a historic journey around the moon. This is the first manned flyby of the Moon in more than 50 years, since the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, which carried the first humans to the Moon.The mission lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a NASA Space Launch System rocket.Read also: Artemis II crew reports problem with Orion spacecraft’s toilet; NASA solves problems
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman described the launch as a defining moment, saying: “Artemis II is the beginning of something bigger than any one mission. It marks our return to the Moon, not just to visit, but to ultimately stay at our lunar base, and lays the foundation for the next giant leaps forward.”
The mission will last about 10 days. The crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.NASA launches Artemis II, the first manned mission to the Moon in half a century
During the mission, Orion will travel to high Earth orbit before performing a translunar burn to set it on a path around the Moon. Astronauts will fly by the moon, observing and taking photos of the lunar surface, including areas rarely seen by humans.