Nasa’s Artemis II moon mission successfully blasts off

There were cheers from the Kennedy Space Center technicians when Nasa’s mission to circle the moon in the enormous space rocket Artemis II, blasted away from the Florida coast at 18:35 CDT, on 1 April. 

The earth literally shook when a sheet of brilliant white flame suddenly erupted, temporarily engulfing the whole launch pad, as the giant craft rose into the sky. It then received a second combined cheer when passing the moment of maximum danger – one minute and 10 seconds into the launch.

That was the point at which the pressure hits the rocket the fiercest, and therefore when engineers know that even a small structural weakness can be catastrophic.

There had been several issues in the hour or so before hand, which genuinely threatened the launch as concern was raised regarding the abort system, which enables the Nasa scientists to eject the astronauts and blow up the rocket if there is a malfunction. 

Also, according to flight controllers, sensors in the waste-management system (in other words the rocket’s toilet) was throwing up some unexpected readings, but these were rectified and the crew of four were able to share their pre-launch messages during the 10-minute countdown to lift off.

The four astronauts who make up the team are: Retired Navy captain, Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission specialist Christina Koch and Fighter Pilot Jeremy Hansen. 

Observers ticked off various milestones as they were achieved, such as seeing the twin boosters separate after helping the rocket reach a speed of more than 10,000mph. 

The astronauts officially entered orbit when they crossed what is known as the Kármán line – the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space.  They are now heading out to a point some 6,400 miles (10,299km) beyond the far side of the Moon, which always faces away from the Earth – marking the first time this has taken place.

This will surpass the record for the farthest distance humans have travelled from this planet, set by Apollo 13. The actual lunar flyby is expected on April 6 and the crew will return to Earth with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at approximately 0006 UTC on April 11. 

Nasa then has its sights firmly set on Mars and wants to send people there by the 2030s, although many feel that allowing for the many technological hurdles needed to be overcome, that represents an ambitious timeline.