Watch live as the Orion spacecraft, after having launched into space aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, shares its first Earth views during its outbound coast to the Moon. During Artemis I, Orion will travel 280,000 miles (450,000 km) from Earth and 40,000 miles (64,000 km) beyond the far side of the Moon, carrying science and technology payloads to expand our understanding of lunar science, technology developments, and deep space radiation.

Through Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a stepping stone to send astronauts to Mars.

This shakedown mission, NASA’s first flight of a crew-capable moon ship in nearly 50 years, serves as the proving ground to see if SLS and Orion are ready to help return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2025 under NASA’s Artemis program.

“Liftoff of Artemis 1!” NASA commentator Derrol Nail said during the webcast of this morning’s launch. “We rise together, back to the moon and beyond.”

video and feature image credit NASA YouTube channel