The Space Launch System rocket carried four astronauts safely into orbit, with the Orion spacecraft now on a 10-day journey around the moon before returning to Earth, News.Az reports.
The crew consists of three American astronauts and one Canadian, with the mission focused on testing critical systems required for future deep space exploration.
The launch represents a major milestone for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon later this decade and lay the groundwork for missions beyond.
U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated NASA and the crew following the launch. Speaking during an address on Operation Epic Fury against Iran, he praised the mission as a significant achievement.
“Let me begin by congratulating the team at NASA and our brave astronauts on the successful launch of Artemis II. It was quite something,” he said, noting that the spacecraft would travel farther than any crewed mission in history.
“It will be traveling further than any manned rocket has ever flown, passing the moon, going around it and returning from a distance never achieved before. It’s amazing,” he added.
However, within hours of liftoff, the crew reported a malfunction involving one of Orion’s new onboard systems — the toilet. Mission specialist Christina Koch identified an issue with the Universal Waste Management System, specifically related to urine collection.
NASA spokesperson Gary Jordan confirmed during live mission commentary that “the toilet fan is reported to be jammed,” adding that ground teams were working on instructions to fix the problem.
Norm Knight later explained that the issue stemmed from a controller malfunction. NASA said astronauts could still use the toilet for solid waste, but not for urination while engineers worked on restoring full functionality.
In the meantime, the crew is relying on backup waste management systems designed for such contingencies, while the Orion spacecraft continues its historic journey.
