After several delays - including months of postponements caused by hydrogen fuel leaks discovered during earlier countdown tests - NASA has finally launched its first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years.
Four astronauts lifted off Wednesday (1 April) aboard Artemis II, marking humanity’s return to deep space exploration and the first crewed journey around the Moon since the Apollo era.
The 32-story Space Launch System rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center before tens of thousands of spectators. Crowds jammed the surrounding roads and beaches, reminiscent of the Apollo moonshots in the 1960s and ’70s.
Here are some spectacular pictures from the historic event:
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“On this historic mission, you take with you the heart of this Artemis team, the daring spirit of the American people and our partners across the globe, and the hopes and dreams of a new generation,” launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told the crew right before liftoff. “Good luck, Godspeed Artemis II. Let’s go.”
The crew - Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialists Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen - form the most diverse lunar team ever assembled, including the first woman, person of colour and non-U.S. astronaut to travel to the Moon.
Five minutes into the flight, Commander Wiseman saw the team’s target: “We have a beautiful moonrise, we’re headed right at it,” he said from the capsule.
If the plan proceeds as expected, the astronauts will set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human before.
They won’t pause for a stopover or orbit the Moon as Apollo 8's first lunar visitors did in 1968, but will zoom past the moon and continue another 6,400 kilometres beyond, before making a U-turn and tearing straight home to a splashdown in the Pacific.
Unlike Apollo, which focused on fast flags and footprints in a breakneck race against the Soviet Union, Artemis is designed to allow the United States to repeatedly return to the Moon, with the goal of establishing a permanent base that will offer a platform for further exploration.
The voyage should last approximately 10 days in total.