Artemis II: Astronaut says ‘felt like we'd hit Earth’ during Orion manoeuvre | All about the NASA moon mission

Flanked by fellow astronauts Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman, Jeremy Hansen reflected on how rapidly their home planet seemed to shrink from view.

Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen described a surreal moment aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft, saying it felt like he was “falling out of the sky” as the crew powered towards the moon on the Artemis II mission.

Hansen explains (AP)

Hansen, a 50-year-old former fighter pilot on his first spaceflight, said the initial hours in space were filled with awe.

Speaking during a video call on Saturday, Hansen shared early experiences from the journey, as the spacecraft crossed the halfway mark between Earth and the moon — more than 2,41,000 km (150,000 miles) away, reported news agency AFP.

Orion spacecraft captured by a camera mounted on one of its solar array wings during a routine external inspection of the spacecraft on the second day into the Artemis II mission, on April 3, 2026. (AFP)

Flanked by fellow astronauts Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman, Hansen reflected on how rapidly their home planet seemed to shrink from view. "By the time we had a bit of a nap and got up, the Earth was just so far away," Hansen said during the interaction hosted by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

‘Like falling out of the sky’

The most intense moment, Hansen said, came during the translunar injection burn, a critical manoeuvre that set Orion on its path towards the moon.

(L-R) NASA astronaut and Artemis II pilot Victor Glover, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman during a press call. (AFP)

"It just felt like we were falling out of the sky back to Earth, and I said to Reid, 'It feels like we're gonna hit it,'" Hansen said. "It's amazing that we're actually gonna go around and miss this thing. It was just so close and so to take all of that in was really phenomenal."

The manoeuvre brought the spacecraft within about 200 kilometres of Earth before sling-shotting it toward the Moon, creating the dramatic sensation he described.

Hansen, who joined the Canadian Space Agency in 2009 after serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force, is set to become the first non-American to travel around the moon.

NASA astronaut and Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch (R) and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen working inside the Orion spacecraft. (AFP)

All you need to know about NASA's Artemis II mission

1. The Artemis II mission, launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday evening, marks NASA’s return to crewed lunar missions under the Artemis programme.
2. The four-member crew includes commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Hansen.
3. The journey is expected to take about four days to reach the Moon’s vicinity, with a planned flyby scheduled for April 6. While the astronauts will not land, the mission is designed as a critical step toward future lunar landings.
4. One of the next milestones comes on day five, when Orion enters the Moon’s sphere of influence. According to NASA, this is the point where lunar gravity overtakes Earth’s pull.
5. If successful, Artemis II will set a new record for the farthest distance traveled by humans in space, surpassing the crew of the Apollo 13 mission.
6. The spacecraft is expected to pass within roughly 6,618 km (4,112 miles) of the Moon, which astronauts say will appear about the size of a basketball held at arm’s length from the capsule window.
7. During the 10-day mission, the crew will carry out tests, conduct experiments, and prepare to capture detailed images of the lunar surface. In a first-of-its-kind move, they are also scheduled to communicate with astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
8. NASA’s broader goal under the Artemis programme is to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon, including plans for a base where astronauts can live and work. A future mission is expected to attempt a lunar landing as early as 2028.
9. During a planned lunar flyby on Monday, April 6, the crew will capture high-resolution images and share their observations of the Moon’s surface, including parts of the far side that have never been directly seen by humans.
10. After completing the flyby, the astronauts are set to return to Earth, with a splashdown scheduled in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.

(With AFP, Bloomberg inputs)