Watch as Artemis II successfully takes off for a historic moon mission
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NASA launches Artemis II, as US sends astronauts towards the moon after 50 years
NASA has launched the Artemis II spacecraft which on Wednesday took off from the US state of Florida, sending four astronauts on a historic journey around the moon.
This would mark the first time humans have travelled beyond low-Earth orbit in more than 50 years, and a significant step in the United States space agency NASA’s plan to return humans to the moon and possibly send astronauts to Mars in no distant time.
Tens of thousands gathered to witness the 32-storey rocket take off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.
The Artemis II crew consists of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
The crew who are heading farther into space than humans have travelled in decades, would be making a 10-day journey around the moon and back.
Speaking, the launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, noted: “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. Good luck, Godspeed Artemis II. Let’s go.”
“We go for all humanity,” astronaut Reid Wiseman said as they launched, and five minutes into the flight, he said from the capsule, “We have a beautiful moonrise, we’re headed right at it”.
The spacecraft is currently orbiting the Earth. They are expected to remain in orbit for 24 hours as the crew carries out checks, and would be given a green light to proceed if all goes well.
A NASA official stated that the crew are “safe, secure and in great spirits”.
The travelling party who might travel further from Earth than anyone has ever been before, are not expected to land on the moon during the 10-day mission, but would circle it instead.
