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Artemis II blasts off: Humans are on their way back to the moon The Artemis II crew has blasted off for the moon on a historic rocket launch at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen are now riding high in the Orion spacecraft as the first humans to head back to the moon in more than 50 years. The rocket lifted off at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1 — one of the final launch windows available to meet NASA’s April 30 mission deadline. Artemis II has been fraught with delays in recent months, but on April Fool's Day, NASA's gigantic Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule took off without any significant issues. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Florida's Space Coast to watch the launch in person, while millions more tuned in around the world to watch NASA's live broadcast. The Artemis II crew is now embarking on a 10-day spaceflight, which will take them around the far side of the moon, travelling farther and faster than any humans in history, before they return home to Earth. The record-breaking mission is set to establish a number of historic firsts. NASA's Koch is on her way to becoming the first woman in history to go beyond low Earth orbit and the first woman to visit the lunar environment, while NASA's Glover is on his way to becoming the first Black astronaut to venture beyond low Earth orbit and visit the lunar environment. Source:Live Science @EverythingScience

Source: @NASAArtemis Here's a recap of the trajectory the Artemis II crew is taking around the Moon. After the TLI (Trans-lunar injection) burn near Earth, there will be three minor course corrections on the way to the moon and three more on the way back, but no burns will be required during the approach or to initiate a return. The Moon's gravity will do the work. This is known as a free-return trajectory. @EverythingScience

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Godspeed Artemis II! Our crew on the Space Station stayed up to watch the launch of our friends on their historic mission to the Moon. We were over the Northern Pacific Ocean at the time of launch, so we couldn’t see it directly (we watched it on NASA TV). However, about a half hour later, as we orbited a few hundred kilometers from Florida, I was able to catch a glimpse of the remnants of the trail the rocket made as it passed through the atmosphere! You can see the effect of the wind at different altitudes. Source: @Astro_ChrisW @EverythingScience

Artemis II and four humans are on the way towards the Moon! Source: @dwisecinema @EverythingScience

A close look at Artemis II Orion and ICPS. The sped up video spans the period from 03:16:18 to 03:27:31 UTC. Source: @s2a_systems @EverythingScience

NASA reports that the Orion toilet has been fixed and the mission is continuing nominally. 🌐Watch live 📝Live timeline @EverythingScience

Tough and competent. 💪 The flight control team in Artemis Mission Control in Houston is on console and ready to command Orion and SLS after liftoff and all the way through splashdown, monitoring every system and every milestone to keep the crew safe. NASA Artemis II is sending NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Hammock Koch, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen around the Moon to test Orion in deep space and pave the way for future lunar missions. Source: @NASA_Johnson @EverythingScience

Next up: Orion upper stage separation burn at 03:27 UTC followed by the ICPS disposal burn and cubesat deploy. Timeline @EverythingScience

With the "proximity operations" test complete, Orion is leaving the ICPS behind

"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." - John F. Kennedy. For the first time since 1972, NASA has launched a crewed moon mission. Source: @ENNEPS @EverythingScience

We hear from the teams here in the Eagle room at ESA Nederland that the European Service Module thrusters are working flawlessly. The reaction control thrusters are having a great performance and allowing for precise manoeuvres during the proximity operations. Source: @esaspaceflight @EverythingScience