NASA ushered in a new chapter in space exploration on Wednesday by successfully launching the Artemis II mission, the first crewed journey toward the Moon in more than half a century. The massive 98-meter-tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying four astronauts on a 10-day mission around the Moon.

The crew consists of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The mission is historic not only because it marks the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972 that humans are traveling once again toward the vicinity of the Moon, but also because it includes the first woman, the first African American and the first non-American astronaut to take part in such a mission.

After liftoff, the Orion capsule reached Earth orbit and will remain there for about 25 hours before beginning the maneuver that will send it toward the Moon. The astronauts will neither land on nor enter lunar orbit; instead, they will perform a flyby of the far side of the Moon and return to Earth on a “free-return trajectory,” with splashdown in the Pacific Ocean expected within ten days.

Artemis II will also serve as a crucial test for Orion’s navigation, life support and communications systems. If everything goes according to plan, NASA will move forward with Artemis III and Artemis IV, the next stages of the program aimed at returning astronauts to the lunar surface and establishing a permanent presence on the Moon before the next decade.