NASA’s first manned mission to the moon in over 50 years – Artemis 2 – successfully launched earlier.

However, the crew on board faced an early nightmare, as the toilet ‘malfunctioned’ just after take off.

It was confirmed that the ‘toilet controller and water tank valve’ were not working correctly after the rocket launched.

In a press conference, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman claimed that these issues were ‘normal,’ adding, “We’re just getting started!”

It is not the first issue the mission faced, as the flight also experienced a minor disruption when Mission Control briefly lost its communication link during a satellite handover.

But the problem was fixed quickly by resetting the ground equipment.

Isaacman added the crew were “safe, they’re secure and in great spirits”.

“After a brief 54-year intermission, NASA is back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon,” he said.

The 322-foot rocket, carrying four crew members, took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 6.36pm local time.

The four astronauts reached orbit ahead of circling the Earth for about 25 hours before catapulting towards the moon, their flight tracked from Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall.

Five minutes into the flight, Commander Reid Wiseman said: “We have a beautiful moonrise, we’re headed right at it.”

The team were in the capsule several hours prior to launch, where they will stay for the next 10 days.

The inside of the rocket is no bigger than a small camper van.

Prior to them boarding, more than 700,000 gallons of fuel (2.6 million litres) was loaded into the spacecraft.

The launch comes after an initial two-month postponement due to hydrogen fuel leaks and clogged helium lines.

The last time Nasa sent astronauts to the Moon was as part of the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

Nasa is seeking to return a crew to the lunar surface by 2028, before China does in about 2030.