Artemis Two: First Human Moon Flight in 50 Years

It's April 3rd. Welcome to Dallas News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story.

NASA's Artemis, two mission just made history, blasting off from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday night April 1st, 2026.

It's the first time humans left Earth orbit since 1972, with four astronauts aboard the Orion capsule,

Commander Reed Weisman, Pilot, Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.

They're on a 10-day trip, slingshotting around the Moon's far side before heading home.

Orion's main engine fired Thursday night, pumping out nearly 6,000 pounds of thrust,

to hit speeds up to 24,500 miles per hour.

Right now, the crews over 250,000 miles from Earth, testing key systems for deep space travel.

The farthest humans have gone in, more than 50 years.

Folks are buzzing about this step toward NASA's big Artemis goals,

landing people on the Moon's south pole and setting up a base there.

It's got that Apollo vibe, but with modern tech, prepping us for longer stays beyond low Earth orbit.

As of 9.45 am, Orion was about 43,000 miles out, cruising at 2,100 miles per hour with 200.

26,000 miles still to the Moon.

You can track it live on NASA's Artemis real-time orbit website,

and there's even a video feed from the spacecraft, though it might go dark during key.

Ops or nightside.

The crew's orbiting Earth today to check everything.

Then they'll burn toward the Moon, loop around on a free-return path using gravity assists,

and splash down in the Pacific Ocean after facing 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit on reentry,

just like the old Apollo days, but paving the way for the all.

Next, lunar chapter.