Four astronauts were sent off on Thursday night Greenland time on a mission that will take them around the Moon.
Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen were on board the "Orion" spacecraft when it was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in the US state of Florida.
The launch was one of the critical points of the ten-day mission.
If even the slightest thing went wrong, it could have fatal consequences for the crew.
At 6:35 p.m. local time - 9:35 p.m. Greenland time - the spacecraft from the American space agency NASA took off with a large pillar of fire below it.
8000 km per hour
After three minutes, "Orion" had reached a speed of more than 8000 kilometers per hour with the help of a booster rocket.
The astronauts will spend the first few days in Earth orbit, where they will perform a series of system checks. The journey to the Moon will then continue.
After four days, "Orion" will pass by the Moon before immediately beginning its return journey.
When the spacecraft is about to enter the Earth's atmosphere, it is again subject to a great risk for the crew if something goes wrong.
On the return journey, the spacecraft will reach a speed of more than 40,200 kilometers per hour.
First time since the 1970s
Orion is scheduled to land in the Pacific Ocean, where rescue teams will be ready to retrieve the crew.
The launch is part of the Artemis II mission. If successful, it will be the first time since the 1970s that humans have been sent around the Moon.
The space program is divided into several phases. The first phase - Artemis I - was unmanned.
The Artemis II mission plays a central role in NASA's plans to return humans to the Moon.
The plan is to later build a permanent space base on the Moon as a launch pad for more space exploration, including trips to Mars.
Nasa has named the new space program Artemis after the twin brother of the god Apollo.
The Artemis program is being implemented by NASA in collaboration with space agencies from Europe, Japan, Canada and Australia.
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