The Artemis II astronauts, after saying goodbye to family and friends, were strapped into their seats aboard the Orion spacecraft by early afternoon, hours before the launch window opened at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time. As the astronauts sat, NASA continued with checks to ensure the safety of the crew before liftoff.

The 10-day trip has distinct phases.

NASA's Artemis Program seeks to place American boots close to the moon's south pole.

On Friday morning, NASA shared a partial view of our bright blue planet as captured by Reid Wiseman, the mission’s commander. Earth, swathed in swirling clouds, is shown rising through a window on the Orion capsule in which the crew is to journey around the moon.

Researchers and government agencies are turning to artificial intelligence to solve one of spaceflight’s fastest-growing problems: tracking debris in the vast stretch between Earth and the Moon. With more than 100 lunar missions planned for the coming decade,

Big Tech companies including Nvidia and Elon Musk's SpaceX are making large bets on a new layer of critical infrastructure that's emerging above our heads.

The crew will travel more than 252,000 miles from Earth – a distance record for humans – before hanging a U-turn behind the moon and heading home.