Artemis II astronauts pass 100,000 miles from Earth on voyage to the moon

The four astronauts on the Artemis II mission have passed 100,000 miles from Earth as they head towards the moon, putting them on track to reach the farthest distance humans have ever travelled into space. The crew left Earth’s orbit and fired their engines on Thursday for a “translunar injection”, sending the Orion capsule on its trajectory towards the moon. “Ladies and gentlemen, I am so, so excited to be able to tell you that for the first time since 1972 during Apollo 17, human beings have left Earth orbit,” Nasa’s Dr Lori Glaze told a news conference. The astronauts – the Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and a Canadian, Jeremy Hansen – spent their first day in space performing checks on the spacecraft, which had never carried humans before. Later they had time to speak to US TV networks. “I’ve got to tell you, there is nothing normal about this,” Wiseman told ABC News from the cramped interior of the capsule. “Sending four humans 250,000 miles away is a herculean effort, and we are now just realising the gravity of that.” Orion will travel about 4,000 miles (6,400km) beyond the moon before turning back, providing unprecedented and illuminated views of the lunar far side. If all proceeds smoothly, the astronauts will set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human before – more than 250,000 miles. The mission is part of a longer-term plan to repeatedly return to the moon, with the aim of establishing a permanent base that will offer a platform for further exploration. Related: Artemis II marks Nasa’s new moon age, wrapped in patriotism and global promise On Thursday, after what Nasa described as a “flawless” engine firing that lasted just under six minutes, the astronauts said they had been glued to the windows of the capsule as they left Earth. Koch said: “There’s nothing that prepares you for the breathtaking aspect of seeing your home planet both lit up bright as day, …