Hi, I'm SciFRI producer Kathleen Davis, and you're listening to Science Friday.

10, 9, 8, 7, RS 25 engines, 8, 4, 3, 2, one, booster ignition.

And lift off.

The crew of Artemis II now bound for the moon.

Humanity's next great voyage begins.

Very good roll pitch.

Roger, roll pitch.

That was Wednesday's launch of the Artemis II mission.

Four astronauts are now well on their way towards the moon.

They're planning to swing around in a lunar flyby before heading back to Earth about a week from now.

This flight has been a long time coming. The Artemis program has faced several delays, and the overall Artemis program to return to the moon is in flux as well.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman recently announced a shift in focus to building a moon base.

Here for an update on the Artemis II mission and longer-term plans for the moon is

Brendan Byrne of Central Florida Public Media. He's also hosts at the Are We There Yet podcast? Welcome back,

Brendan. Hey, thanks for having me. Okay, so you were at the launch that we just heard. I'm so jealous. Set the

scene for us. What was that like?

It was a scene that I have never seen before. There were so many people out there watching this launch countdown.

I got there probably about nine hours before T minus zero and it was already buzzing with energy.

The launch itself was also like nothing I had ever seen before.

You know, SLS is a massive rocket.

And as we heard that countdown there, we saw the engines light.

We saw the solid rocket boosters light.

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