Following a successful translunar injection burn on April 2 and an approximately eight-hour rest period, the Artemis II crew began their second full day in space, settling into the rhythm of deep‑space operations.. With the burn completed, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, became the first humans to travel beyond Earth’s orbit since the Apollo missions in 1972.
At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, the Mission Control team woke the crew at 1 p.m. EDT, starting the day with the song “…In a Daydream” by the Freddy Jones Band.
Team also posted, they have reached halfway.
Today’s activities include – outbound trajectory correction burn (OTC), Orion spacecraft operations, lunar science prep, and crew health demonstrations.
Here’s a look at Day 3 schedule:
- The crew is set to get ready for their first outbound trajectory correction (OTC) burn, planned for 6:49 p.m. It is expected to last about eight seconds and will adjust Orion’s speed by roughly 0.7 feet per second. NASA explains, trajectory correction burns are planned firings that fine‑tune the Orion spacecraft’s path after major maneuvers. Using Orion’s thrusters, the OTC burn adjusts velocity and trajectory to ensure the spacecraft reaches the precise point in space needed for upcoming lunar operations.
- Inside Orion, the four astronauts will prepare setting up the cabin for upcoming lunar observations. This will involve stowing equipment positioning cameras, and coordinating their movements in microgravity within a confined space roughly comparable to the size of two minivans.
- They will configure their handheld cameras with the 80-400-millimeter and 14-24-millimeter lenses that will be used during Monday’s lunar flyby.
- The crew also will conduct a CPR and choking‑response demonstration to evaluate emergency medical procedures aboard the spacecraft.
- All four crewmembers also will continue regular exercise sessions using Orion’s flywheel device to maintain cardiovascular conditioning.
- Later in the day, Koch will conduct a test of Orion’s emergency communications system using the Deep Space Network, checking its reliability as the spacecraft moves deeper into space away from Earth. NASA notes, the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System connected with its two US-based ground stations, transmitting high-definition video and other mission data from the capsule to Earth. This data was immediately relayed to mission control in Houston.
