NASA's historic Artemis II mission to the moon sees astronauts returning to our celestial satellite for the first time in over 50 years. Today's crew, however, won't land on the moon and, in fact, won't even orbit the moon. Instead, they will fly around it before heading home, the 10-day journey serving as a test flight ahead of a planned lunar touchdown in 2028.
The day of the launch saw the crew orbit the Earth twice in order to carry out a series of critical system and safety checks. Achieving Earth orbit today is a somewhat routine procedure, though still a potentially hazardous one. But 70 years ago, the race was on to put the first human into space and fly them around the planet. But what exactly is involved in successfully launching a rocket and maneuvering it into place above the Earth's atmosphere, and how do you make sure a spaceship survives reentry?
This gallery follows the trajectory of early space flight and explains in more detail the science behind placing a vessel in orbit. Click on to launch it.