Four astronauts are about to become the first humans to venture near the moon in more than half a century since NASA's iconic Apollo era ended.

NASA plans to send four astronauts on a mission to circumnavigate the moon, the first human lunar mission in over 50 years. SpaceX is expected to debut a new version of its Starship megarocket and continue developing it for future moon and Mars missions.

The Space X Twilight mission lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California early Sunday morning carrying 47 satellites that were later deployed into Earth orbit. Among the payloads were 10 satellites built by Canadian company Kepler Communications Inc. and NASA's exoplanet observer called Pandora. SpaceX/Supplied