The Artemis II mission rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday evening carrying four astronauts on a historic mission to the Moon.
This is the first time since 1972 that astronauts will fly by the Moon.
Watch the Artemis launch live on our YouTube channel.
NASA was targeting a two-hour launch window that opened at 6.24pm ET (2224 GMT) today.
What do we know about the Artemis II mission?
The four astronauts of the Artemis II flight blasted off to the moon Wednesday night, marking NASA’s most ambitious space mission in decades.
The 10-day flight around the moon is a major step toward the return of humans to the lunar surface, coming in advance of China’s first crewed landing.
This will mark the longest distance humans have ever traveled in space, covering a distance of approximately 252,000 miles (406,000 km).
Are astronauts about to land on the moon?
This time astronauts will not land on the Moon, but the purpose of the Artemis II mission is to see if components of the Artemis space program can send astronauts to the Moon and back.
What do we know about rockets and astronauts?
NASA led the design of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule and hired private companies SpaceX and Blue Origin to provide lunar landers for future Artemis missions.
On NASA’s Artemis II test flight, astronauts will take control of the Orion spacecraft and manually fly it from time to time during the flight around the moon and back.
This mission provides the first opportunity to ensure that the spacecraft operates with humans as designed, before future Artemis missions to the lunar surface.
NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reed Wiseman, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, landed in Florida on Friday from Houston after a two-week quarantine before takeoff.
What does Germany have to do with Artemis II?
A key component of the Orion spacecraft’s European Service Module (ESM) was built by Airbus in Bremen, Germany, on behalf of the European Space Agency.
Serving as the powerhouse for Artemis Moon missions, the ESM provides propulsion, power, thermal control, water, and oxygen using 33 engines, including a repurposed Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering Engine.
Artemis promised moon base
Astronauts are not expected to land on the Moon. Instead, they will travel several thousand miles beyond it, make a U-turn and return to Earth.
They will not orbit or moonwalk around the Moon. But during the flight, they are expected to test critical life-support systems of the Orion capsule, crew interfaces and communications.
The Artemis II mission represents the opening shot of NASA’s plans for an eventual permanent moon base. The agency hopes to make a proper moon landing near the moon’s south pole in 2028.
Edited by: Srinivas Majumdaru, Alex Berry