NASA has given the Artemis astronauts the green light to head towards the moon, with the first crewed lunar fly-by in over 50 years. The mission is set to begin with a 5-minute burn at 7:49pm EST.

Nasa gave the four Artemis astronauts circling Earth the green light on Thursday to head for the moon and carry out the first crewed lunar fly-by in more than 50 years. Nasa Flight Director Jeff Radigan told the astronauts the mission management team had approved firing up the engine of their Orion capsule to send the spacecraft on a trajectory towards the moon. The 5 min and 49 second burn is scheduled to take place at 7.49pm Eastern Time and send the astronauts out of Earth orbit to begin the....