NASA moved a 322-foot-tall rocket out to the launchpad on Saturday, a key step as the agency prepares for a long-awaited mission to send four astronauts around the moon.

NASA has begun rolling out a rocket in its mission to take astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

The launch window for the Artemis II mission opens on February 6, with the rocket beginning its move towards the launchpad at the US space agency’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Saturday.