Watch as Star Trek actors’ ashes sent into space in first US moon mission since Apollo

Watch as the United Launch Alliance’s next-generation Vulcan rocket makes its debut flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Monday morning (8 January).

It is the first time that the US has attempted to land something on the moon for fifty years.

Thought to be a competitor for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the United Launch Alliance rocket successfully launched at 07:18am GMT.

The high-stakes mission is carrying a moon lander built by Astrobotic and a payload of human ashes arranged by space memorial service Celestis.

Remains include those of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and members of the original TV series cast.

The Vulcan rocket is sending up a Moon lander mission called Peregrine and if it touches down safely, it will be the first American craft to make a soft landing on the lunar surface since the Apollo era.

It will also be the very first non-government, commercial venture to do so.