Artemis II: Nasa astronauts have first look at Orion spacecraft

The Orion spacecraft will take Nasa astronauts to the Moon

Nasa's Artemis II mission astronauts have had their first look at the capsule that will take them to the Moon.

The Orion capsule will take the crew of four as part of Nasa's aim to put people on the Moon for the first time in over 50 years.

Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman said: "You look at it, it's a real spacecraft... I just feel like this is a robust machine that's ready to take us around the Moon."

The Artemis II is due to blast off in November 2024, but the astronauts won't set foot on the Moon, this trip is to pave the way for an eventual lunar landing.

Reid Wiseman (left), Christina Koch (left-centre), Victor Glover (right-centre) and Jeremy Hansen (right) could be heading to space late next year

Heading to space will be American astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

The capsule which will send the astronauts to the Moon is called Orion.

"When we first stuck our heads in and you look around in there, you realise, this can only be one thing: a spaceship. Nothing else looks like that and that's exactly what it felt, that's what gave me shivers," said Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist.

The crew for the trip includes the first woman, first person of colour and first Canadian on a lunar mission.

Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, said: "You may hear people say 'anyone can go to the moon, dream big' but to see people that look like you do it, there's a kid out there that has a greater sense of connection because of what somebody on this crew may look like, or what someone on the next group may look like and I think that that's important as well."

What is the mission of Artemis?

Artemis II mission plan

Artemis is a three-part series of increasingly complex missions aimed at putting a man and a woman on the Moon before the end of 2025.

The Artemis I mission didn't have any astronauts on board but was designed to fully test the Moon mission kit - it was successfully sent into orbit around the Moon in November 2022.

The Artemis II mission is expected to blast off in November 2024 at the earliest - with this crew on board - and will circle around the Moon and return home.

Artemis III will land astronauts on the Moon for the first time since the Apollo missions of the last century.