Daijiworld Media Network - Florida
Florida, Apr 2: In a landmark moment for space exploration, four astronauts aboard Artemis 2 blasted off on Wednesday, embarking on the first crewed journey around the Moon in more than five decades.
The powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket roared to life at approximately 6:35 pm local time, lifting off from Kennedy Space Center and carrying three Americans and one Canadian into space. Cheers erupted from thousands of spectators and NASA teams as the orange-and-white rocket ascended into the evening sky.
The crew includes Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who described the mission as one undertaken “for all humanity.”
Mission launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson hailed the moment as historic, telling the crew they carried “the hopes and dreams of a new generation” as they set off on the ambitious mission.
The approximately 10-day journey will see the astronauts travel around the Moon without landing, conducting critical system checks and testing manual piloting capabilities. Notably, this marks the first time the spacecraft is carrying humans, making safety and reliability assessments a key priority.
Artemis 2 is expected to achieve several milestones, including sending the first woman, the first person of colour, and the first non-American on a lunar mission. If successful, the crew will also travel farther from Earth than any humans in history.
The mission is part of NASA’s broader Artemis programme, which aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon and pave the way for future deep-space exploration. Despite facing repeated delays and technical setbacks, the launch represents a major step forward.
The programme has also gained political momentum, with Donald Trump urging faster progress to achieve a Moon landing before 2029. The United States is also racing against China, which has announced plans to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030.
As Artemis 2 journeys “beyond the stars,” it signals a renewed era of human spaceflight, reigniting ambitions to return to the lunar surface and push further into the cosmos.