The countdown has begun toward humanity’s first launch to the moon in 53 years. NASA’s countdown clocks started ticking late Monday afternoon at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The 32-story Space Launch System rocket is poised to blast off Wednesday evening with four astronauts. After a day in orbit around Earth, their Orion capsule will propel them to the moon and back. NASA says the rocket is doing well after the latest round of repairs. The last time NASA sent astronauts to the moon was during Apollo 17 in 1972.

NASA's Apollo moonshots are a tough act to follow, even after all this time. As four astronauts get set to blast off on humanity's first trip to the moon in more than half a century, comparisons between Apollo and NASA's new Artemis program are inevitable. Artemis reflects more of society, with a woman, person of color and Canadian rocketing away from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. But they won't orbit the moon like the world's first lunar visitors did on Apollo 8 back in 1968. Instead, they'll play it safe and zip around the moon in an out-and-back slingshot like Apollo 13.

Previously unreleased photos show astronaut Neil Armstrong in the aftermath of a space mission that almost took his life. Gemini 8 accomplished the first docking in space, but an unexpected technical error caused the spacecraft to tumble uncontrollably. The astronauts' quick thinking saved their lives and ended the mission early. Because the splashdown off Japan wasn't planned, fewer members of the media were there to capture the return. The newly discovered photos have been donated to the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Ohio. They were taken by Ron McQueeney, an Army veteran and professional photographer who escorted the astronauts.