NASA's Artemis II rocket lifted off Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying four astronauts on a historic journey around the moon – the first crewed lunar flight in more than 50 years.

The 10-day mission, a critical step in the US plan to return humans to the lunar surface this decade, includes three American astronauts and one Canadian.

According to a NASA livestream, the crew successfully entered Earth's orbit, where they will spend several days conducting tests before embarking on their lunar loop.