NASA launches first crewed lunar mission in half a century

[VOVWORLD] - Four astronauts blasted off on Wednesday for a voyage around the moon. NASA's Artemis II mission, its first crewed lunar mission in half a century, lifted off at the Kennedy Space Center at 6:35PM Wednesday, carrying US astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

NASA's Artemis II mission to fly by the moon, comprising of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion crew capsule, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, US, April 1, 2026. (Photo: REUTERS/Joe Skipper)

If the mission goes as planned, the spacecraft will leave Earth orbit on Thursday and swing around the moon for 3 days. The entire mission is expected to take 10 days.

One of the witnesses said, “I have been looking forward to this for like 10,15 years. I have been following NASA's last Artemis programs, the Space Launch System. I keep up with the news. This is like a bucket list honestly. I have always wanted to be here. I live here in Florida and to see an actual NASA rocket, it's incredible.”

“I drove 8 hours from Carolina to be here with all of you. It's such a beautiful event and this event can bring this beautiful country together,” according to another witness.

This is the first crewed flight using NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which was designed for long-term explorations. It will eventually return humans to the moon and establish a long-term base there.

It’s the first lunar mission to have a person of color, a woman, and a non-American on board. If successful, the mission will set a new record for the farthest humankind has ever traveled from Earth.