The four astronauts on the Artemis II mission have now left the Earth's orbit, after their Orion spacecraft fired its main engine for a final push towards the Moon,
BBC reports.
The five minute and 55 second engine burn, known as the translunar injection (TLI), went "flawlessly", Nasa's Dr Lori Glaze said afterwards.
And from the Orion capsule, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen said the crew was "feeling pretty good up here on our way to the Moon".
Artemis II is now on a looping path that will carry the crew around the far side of the Moon and back again. It is the first time since 1972 that humans have travelled outside of the Earth's orbit.
On the livestream from Orion, Earth is slowly shrinking, as the capsule moves further and further into space.
Hansen, who is the first non-American to travel to the Moon - told Nasa's mission control that the crew "firmly felt the power" of those who have persevered and worked so hard on this mission.
"Humanity has once again shown what we are capable of," he said. "It's your hopes for the future that carry us now on this journey around the Moon."
After spending roughly a day in a stretched‑out "high Earth orbit", Orion's engines, navigation and life-support systems were checked, while the capsule looped our planet.
At last, the final approval was given, and the engine burn could begin - the mission's last, big move towards the Moon.
Behind the crew's seats, the service module lit its single main engine in a long, steady push that added thousands of kilometres per hour to Orion's speed.
