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On April 1, four astronauts blasted off on what will be a 10-day voyage around the moon and back. Their mission, the first to send humans to the moon since 1972, will test key systems for two lunar landings in 2028, which will, in turn, lay the foundation for a permanent base on the moon's surface.
Here's the launch of the historic mission in pictures.
Sunrise over moonshot
The sun rises over the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule as they stand atop a mobile launcher at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B.
(Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)
At 322 feet (98 meters) in height, the Artemis II rocket stack is taller than the Statue of Liberty and provides over 8.8 million pounds (4 million kilograms) of thrust to a capsule the size of a camper van.
Taking a seat
Onlookers set up camping chairs to watch the sunrise from a park in Titusville, Florida, several hours before NASA's Artemis II launch.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Artemis II's launch has been hotly anticipated, with NASA originally targeting a moon landing by 2024 back in 2019.
Still, given the numerous delays and setbacks suffered by Artemis II and its predecessor mission, setting up this early was an act of faith by many onlookers.
Onto the tarmac
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen exit quarantine to greet spectators on the tarmac.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
To avoid health issues in space, it's standard protocol for astronauts to quarantine before a launch.
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The Artemis II astronauts quarantined with their families and, just before exiting, played a card game — one of many prelaunch rituals intended to "use up" bad luck before heading out to the launchpad.
Locked and loaded
The Artemis II astronauts strap in and test their communications and other flight systems before launch.
(Image credit: NASA)
The astronauts experienced up to four times Earth's gravity during their ascent to orbit, accelerating to speeds of up to 10,000 mph (16,000 km/h).
Those speeds pale in comparison to those at reentry, in which the Artemis II astronauts will fall at slightly over 25,000 mph (40,000 km/h), becoming the fastest humans in history.
Liftoff
The Artemis II rocket lifts off.
(Image credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
To reach orbit, the SLS rocket burns through more than 730,000 gallons (28,000 liters) of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in its core stage alone.
The core stage's four RS-25 engines consume propellant at a rate of 1,500 gallons (5,700 liters) per second during their eight minutes of operation. That's more than enough to drain an Olympic-size swimming pool in that time.
Live from Cape Canaveral
The Space Launch System spews a plume of smoke during launch.
(Image credit: Roger Guillemette)
This image of the liftoff was taken by Roger Guillemette, Live Science's Artemis II launch correspondent, for our live Artemis II coverage.
Guillemette has witnessed close to 100 piloted spaceflight launches, from the July 1975 Saturn IB launch of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project to the final launch of the Shuttle Atlantis on STS-135 in July 2011.
A screaming across the sky
Birds scatter from around the launch site at Kennedy Space Center in Florida as Artemis II blasts off.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The SLS rocket produced a thunderous noise measuring 176 decibels during liftoff — loud enough to cause serious eardrum damage and to be heard up to 30 miles (50 km) away.
As the world watched
People watch the launch from A. Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville, Florida.
(Image credit: Gerardo Mora/Stringer via Getty images)
Up to 400,000 people watched the rocket take off from along Florida's Space Coast, with tens of millions simultaneously watching online, according to early viewing estimates.
Rocketing skyward
The Space Launch System carrying the Orion capsule in flight.
(Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)
It took around seven seconds for the SLS rocket to clear the launch tower after its two solid-fuel boosters ignited for liftoff. The rocket broke the sound barrier just under a minute into the flight.
Onward to the moon
The trajectory of the Artemis II rocket captured in a three-minute exposure.
(Image credit: NASA/Keegan Barber)
Upon entering space, the Orion capsule detatched from the rocket's core stage.
The Orion capsule separates from the rocket's core stage.
(Image credit: NASA)
The crew will now swing around Earth, performing a gravitational slingshot maneuver to pick up speed.
This will be followed by a translunar injection burn that puts the crew on their final trajectory toward the moon.
Ben Turner is a U.K. based writer and editor at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, tech and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist. When he's not writing, Ben enjoys reading literature, playing the guitar and embarrassing himself with chess.
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