Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen’s journey to the moon has begun.

The Artemis II test flight, marking the first time that humans have travelled beyond low Earth orbit in more than 50 years, lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

The intense glare of the rocket’s powerful exhaust made for a striking sight as it roared upward into a clear blue sky brightly illuminated by the setting sun. The rocket then arced eastward, pushing its crew toward outer space with increasing speed and remained visible as a glowing spark that persisted for more than three minutes before receding from view.

Main engine cutoff came about eight minutes later, by which time the four astronauts on board – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen – had travelled halfway around the world.