MISSION TO THE MOON

The successful Artemis 2 mission has launched an exciting new age of space exploration. Climb on board the tiny capsule with Daisy Dobrijevic as we blast off to the Moon.

- Daisy Dobrijevic

In April, four explorers climbed on board an Orion spacecraft (nicknamed Integrity) and blasted off from Earth. American astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Reid Wiseman, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, were heading into deep space on a journey to the Moon — more than 50 years after the last Apollo astronauts left the lunar surface in 1972. Their mission took them further from Earth than any humans have ever been, looping around the Moon and testing the systems that will one day return humans to its surface.

Over 10 action-packed days, the crew faced dangers from deadly radiation to everyday challenges like a broken loo, and made discoveries that will shape future missions. Strap on your helmet and let's blast off on a space adventure.

Into orbit

The crew of Artemis 2 began their journey in spectacular fashion as NASA's most powerful rocket ever — the 100-metre-tall Space Launch System — roared to life. Solid-fuel boosters fixed to the rocket's sides burned through six tonnes of propellant a second — in about two minutes they were empty and explosive bolts fired to send them tumbling back to the ground.

The main stage engines took over, and in just eight minutes off the launchpad, the 2,600-tonne rocket was hurtling around the planet at 17,500 miles per hour. The astronauts barely had time to catch their breath, before they had to perform a series of tricky spacecraft manoeuvres to test how easy it was to control Integrity. This was a practice run for future missions where astronauts will dock with a base in orbit.