Nasa said the mission could take its astronauts further into space that anyone has been before.
Artemis II is not scheduled to land on the Moon, but will instead lay the groundwork for a future lunar landing led by the Artemis III mission.
Nasa said the launch of Artemis III will take place “no earlier than” 2027. But, experts believe 2028 is the earliest possible date.
Koch said it was an amazing feeling to see the rocket.
“Astronauts are the calmest people on launch day. And I think… it feels that way because we’re just so ready to fulfil the mission that we came here to do, that we’ve trained to do,” she said.
Hansen said he hoped the mission would inspire the world.
“The Moon is something that I’ve taken for granted. I’ve looked at it my whole life, but then you just glance at it and glance away,” he said.
“But now I’ve been staring at it a lot more, and I think others will be joining us and staring at the Moon a lot more as there will be humans flying around the far side and that is just good for humanity.”