Nasa’s Artemis II rocket lifts off for historic moon mission

Mass of spectators cheers dazzling Florida launch as astronauts head to moon for first time in almost 54 years

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Nasa's moon rocket Artemis II launched on Wednesday evening, carrying astronauts to the moon for the first time in almost 54 years.

The rocket is now orbiting Earth, and will continue to do so until Thursday, when the translunar injection burn will take place and send it on the rest of its 240,000-mile journey to the moon. Inside the Orion capsule, the four astronauts onboard immediately began tasks to assess how the spacecraft handled the 17,500mph ascent to orbit.