As part of the historic Artemis I mission, NASA has sent back its first images of Earth as it heads towards the moon.

Several hours after launch, a video stream from a camera on the craft captured Earth.

The first images of Earth were taken from the space craft.

Since 1972, the last time a human-rated mission took pictures of Earth, it was the Apollo mission. The views of blue marble in the blackness of space are capturing the imagination of a new generation.

The Space Launch System rocket took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The SLS rocket is the most powerful ever to have been launched. The 25 day mission will test key technologies for upcoming Artemis missions as NASA tries to establish a permanent moon base.

Small science investigations and technology demonstrations called CubeSats will be deployed over the next few hours.

NASA said that each cubeSat has its own mission that can fill gaps in our knowledge of the solar system or demonstrate technologies that may benefit the design of future missions to explore the moon and beyond.

After a series of burns to keep it on course, the Orion is expected to fly by the moon on Monday, November 21, performing a close approach of the lunar surface as it heads toward a distant retrograde orbit.

Jim Free, NASA deputy associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said on Wednesday that the spaceship is on its way to the moon. The successful launch means NASA and our partners are on a path to explore farther in space than ever before.

On a special NASA website, you can track the progress of the spaceship.

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