I watched Artemis II lift off and witnessed the first humans venture to the moon since '72

Even from a distance of several kilometres, the Artemis II rocket looked huge.

Then, there was a moment that felt like an eternity, as around 2,600 metric tons of spacecraft lifted off.

I was honoured to receive an invitation from the Canadian Space Agency to attend this historic launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. I am a professor, an explorer and a planetary geologist. As a member of the First Artemis Lunar Surface Science Team, I have been supporting NASA in developing the geology training for Artemis astronauts.