The space agency is aiming to send four crew members around the moon and back. If successful, it would be the first time humans have travelled there in more than 50 years.

NASA is planning to send astronauts to the moon next month for the first time in more than half a century.

The Artemis ⁠II mission, which aims to send four crew members to orbit around the moon and then return home, could launch as early as 6 March, it was announced on Friday.

Jared Isaacman, an administrator at the space agency, said it would be “a big step toward America’s return to the lunar environment”.

However, the planned launch, from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, could be pushed back depending on final checks.

The crew would become the first astronauts to fly to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, but there are no plans for them to land on its surface.

A first rehearsal for the launch earlier this month was disrupted after a hydrogen leak was discovered.

But a second test was completed on Thursday without any leaks identified after technicians replaced two seals.