NASA approved a six-minute engine burn to send Artemis II out of Earth’s orbit. The pivotal move put the astronauts on a path humans haven’t traveled in half a century.

NASA has decided that Artemis II is ready to leave Earth orbit and head off toward the moon. The final spacecraft burn was complete late April 2.

Four astronauts took off on a flight around the moon in what is humanity’s first lunar voyage in more than half a century and the leadoff in NASA’s push toward a lunar landing in two years.

Artemis astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are on board. They’ll hurtle several thousand miles beyond the moon, hang a U-turn and then come

While orbiting Earth, Artemis II will be 115 miles away at its closest point and about 46,000 miles distant during the furthest segment. The crew is testing life support systems and practicing Orion's manual handling and docking capabilities.

A decision will be made Thursday about whether it is safe for the crew to leave low Earth orbit and begin the more dangerous journey toward the moon.

NASA is scheduled to launch the Artemis II mission on April 1, with four astronauts who will travel to the moon and back.

With a successful translunar injection burn, NASA's Artemis II mission stopped circling Earth and began the first crewed journey toward the moon since the Apollo era.