'Welcome home, Artemis': Crew celebrates historic 10-day moon mission

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, said Artemis II will establish the foundation for future missions.

"The world will be watching in awe as the Artemis II crew pushes the limits of what humanity can do by traveling around the moon," Cantwell said in a statement. "This trip lays the groundwork for returning to the moon's surface and staying there."

The four-person Artemis II crew has reached its initial orbit, one of the first steps as the astronauts head to the moon.

The team will spend about 90 minutes in initial orbit before the second stage fires its engines twice to send Orion to a high Earth elliptical.

The Artemis II crew lifted off at 6:35 p.m. ET from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

After years of preparation from various parts of the agency, NASA has officially launched its historic Artemis II mission.

The crew of four, including commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover Jr., and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, is now climbing toward orbit.

About eight minutes after launch, the rocket's core stage engines will shut down and separate from the upper stage, and the spacecraft and the crew will be in space.

According to NASA, they'll be traveling about 4,000 miles farther than the Apollo 13 mission.

NASA has performed the final poll, with all teams giving a "go" for the Artemis II launch.

The agency has started the terminal count, which is the final 10-minute countdown before launch.