NASA has said that the Artemis II astronauts were manually piloting the Orion spacecraft, sharing a video, according to The Times of India. The update reportedly surfaced hours after Artemis II launched successfully, marking the historic journey around the moon. Since the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, carrying the first humans to the moon.
In the post shared on X, NASA stated, "The Orion spacecraft successfully separated from the upper stage of the rocket, and the "proximity operations" test is underway. The Artemis II astronauts are manually piloting Orion similarly to how they would if they were docking with another spacecraft."
First crewed lunar mission in half a century
The Orion is said to travel into high Earth orbit, prior to performing a translunar injection burn to set it on a path around the moon. The astronauts will conduct a lunar flyby, capturing images of the surfaces of the Moon, which include areas rarely seen by humans, informed NASA.
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'Blue space' doodle as a celebratory ode by Google
The Google Doodle shows the Orion spacecraft, the Moon, and Earth connected by a curved trajectory, and the illustration reflects the actual flightpath that the spacecraft will follow in its journey.
The design focuses on clarity rather than detail, depicting the mission’s passage away from the Earth, travelling around the moon and returning.
Team Artemis II
Four astronauts are reportedly onboard for this mission. Ried Wiseman is serving as the mission commander, and Victor Glover is the pilot of the spacecraft. The other two are mission specialists, namely, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, with the later representing the Canadian Space Agency.
The Orion spacecraft successfully separated from the upper stage of the rocket, and the "proximity operations" test is underway. The Artemis II astronauts are manually piloting Orion similarly to how they would if they were docking with another spacecraft. pic.twitter.com/RWW4RSyaoq
— NASA (@NASA) April 2, 2026
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The crew is responsible for carrying out system checks, handling manual operations and providing support to the mission objectives during the course of the flight.
As per reports, this is the first time this spacecraft and rocket combination is being tested with humans on board.
Artemis II does not include a lunar landing. The mission is expected to conclude with a splashdown near Florida after the 10-day journey around the Moon.
