Nasa’s first crewed Moon mission in half a century

Nasa’s first manned Moon mission in more than 50 years, which will take astronauts deeper into space than any human has gone before, has blasted off.

The 322-foot rocket, carrying four crew members, successfully launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 11:36pm Irish time on Wednesday.

The four astronauts reached orbit ahead of circling the Earth for about 25 hours before catapulting towards the moon, their flight tracked from Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall.

The elite team had entered the capsule several hours earlier where they will remain for the next 10 days with about as much room as a small camper van.

As they headed to the launch pad, the three Americans and one Canadian waved and shaped their hands into hearts to well-wishers.

The team consists of mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, of Canada, pilot Victor Glover, commander Reid Wiseman, and mission specialist Christina Koch.