4 Astronauts Blast Off on Moon Mission

Four astronauts embarked on a high-stakes flight around the moon Wednesday, humanity's first lunar voyage in more than half a century and the thrilling leadoff in NASA's push toward a landing in two years. Carrying three Americans and one Canadian, the 32-story rocket rose from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where tens of thousands gathered to witness the dawn of this new era. Crowds also jammed the surrounding roads and beaches, reminiscent of the Apollo moonshots in the 1960s and '70s. It is NASA's biggest step yet toward establishing a permanent lunar presence.

• The crew waved and shaped their hands into hearts as they emerged from quarters to cheers and said goodbye to their families. The crowd applauded and cheered again as the astronauts boarded their astrovan for the 9-mile ride to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, the AP reports. NASA's live coverage is here. Commander Reid Wiseman thanked the throngs who gathered to see them off. "It's a great day for us. It's a great day for this team," Wiseman called out.

• Tensions were high earlier in the day as hydrogen fuel started flowing into the rocket. Dangerous hydrogen leaks erupted during a countdown test earlier this year, forcing a lengthy flight delay. To NASA's relief, no significant hydrogen leaks occurred. The launch team loaded more than 700,000 gallons of fuel into the 32-story Space Launch System rocket on the pad, a smooth operation that set the stage for the Artemis II crew to board.
• A problem cropped up with the rocket's flight-termination system with only two hours remaining in the countdown. Commands weren't getting through to the system, which is needed to send a self-destruct signal in case the rocket veers off course and threatens populated areas. But the issue was quickly resolved, according to NASA.
• A battery problem with the launch-abort system surfaced shortly before 6pm and engineers said they were "troubleshooting the issue," the Guardian reports. NASA later said there was a "higher temperature than would be expected" the battery, but "it is believed to be an instrumentation issue" and it will not affect the launch, reports the BBC.

• The four will fly around the moon without stopping or even orbiting—then head straight back for a Pacific splashdown. They will set a new distance record for the farthest humans have traveled from Earth as they zoom some 4,000 miles beyond the moon and then hang a U-turn. Astronauts last flew to the moon during Apollo 17 in 1972.
• Best wishes have already started to pour in, including from England's King Charles III to Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Hansen will become the first non-US citizen to launch to the moon. The crew also includes Christina Koch and Victor Glover, the first woman and first Black astronaut, respectively, destined for the moon. "In this historic moment, you stand as a bridge between nations and generations," the king wrote in a letter to Hansen, "and I commend you for your courage, discipline and vision that have brought you to this threshold."
• This story has been updated with new developments.