NASA launches first crewed Moon mission since 1972 (VIDEO)

NASA launched Artemis II, its first crewed flight around the Moon in more than 50 years, on Wednesday.

After a brief delay due to technical issues, a rocket carrying NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canada’s Jeremy Hansen, lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

As part of their ten-day journey, the astronauts will circle the Moon and return to Earth in an Orion capsule. It is the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Orion is set to circle the Moon on April 6. The astronauts will travel farther from Earth than any humans in history, surpassing the record of 400,171 km (248,655 miles) set by Apollo 13, according to ScienceAlert.