NASA has successfully launched the Artemis II mission, marking the first crewed journey to the Moon in over 50 years. The mission, which took place between 6:24pm ET and 8:24pm ET from Kennedy Space Center, is an important step towards future lunar landings.
The 10-day journey around the Moon is being carried out by four NASA astronauts - Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen - aboard the Orion spacecraft. Although the crew will not land on the Moon, the mission will test life support and other systems of the spacecraft.
NASA plans to send astronauts to land on the Moon in future missions, possibly as early as 2028, using additional spacecraft built by private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin.
The Artemis program was revived during the presidency of Donald Trump and continued under his successor, with the Artemis I mission successfully flying an uncrewed mission around the Moon in 2022.
During the mission, the crew will travel as far as about 43,000 miles from the Earth heading towards the moon, which could set a record for the farthest distance humans have travelled from Earth.
The astronauts have also shared personal items they carried on their historic trip, including a Bible, family pendants, a notepad and pencil, and handwritten messages from loved ones.
