British astronaut Major Tim Peake has stated that the UK can be “very proud” of its involvement in Nasa’s upcoming Artemis II Moon mission.

A spacecraft is scheduled to launch this Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, marking the first time astronauts will fly around the Moon in over 50 years.

Goonhilly Earth Station, located near Helston, Cornwall, is set to play a crucial role by tracking the Orion spacecraft during its journey around the Moon and back to Earth.

Four astronauts – three American and one Canadian – will be aboard the vessel. Maj Peake anticipates the trip will provide “amazing sights of the Moon like we’ve never seen before” in 4K high definition.

Asked about the UK and Europe’s lunar exploration, Maj Peake said: “Well, the UK and Europe are right there on Artemis II, we were there on Artemis I, in terms of we built the European service module which powers the Orion spacecraft that provides all the electrical power, the life support systems, the propellant.

“So Europe is heavily involved in the Artemis programme and in return for our involvement, at some point, yes, we will get a European astronaut as part of that mission.”

He added: “We can be very proud in the UK that we are part of this Artemis mission.”

Maj Peake said the mission can inspire young people in the UK to consider a career related to space.

“It’s really important I think that young people in the UK, across Europe, they’re able to look at these programmes and think: I could be involved in that,” he told PA.

“These are interesting, exciting careers to be had and that level of inspiration, it could be the seed, the spark that gets somebody a fantastic and very rewarding career.

“So I think it’s really important that we do get the word out that we are part of this programme.”

The astronaut knows the four Orion crew members “very well”, and said the launch of the mission will be an “emotional moment”.

He said: “Having that emotional attachment to friends who are sat on top of that rocket will be incredible but there’s not an astronaut on the planet who wouldn’t want to be in one of those four seats.

“So it’s going to also be incredibly exciting, it will be a very proud moment and we’ll all be wishing them well on their journey and for a safe and successful mission.”

The mission will last around 10 days and pave the way for Artemis III and IV – the latter being the mission that would see boots back on the Moon again.

“The first mission was uncrewed and that also went around the Moon, so what we’re testing out on this mission is the fact that we’ve got four astronauts on board in the Orion spacecraft,” Maj Peake said.

“They’ll be testing out the life support systems, the communications, navigation, piloting the spacecraft, making sure it performs perfectly and once they’re very happy with that, they’ll then do what’s called a trans-lunar injection burn and that sends them on their way to the Moon.”

He said further space exploration may bring medical breakthroughs and help improve clean energy systems on Earth, and that the Moon may have precious metals, minerals and resources on its surface that could be “incredibly valuable”.

“There’s a huge amount to be learned in terms of scientific knowledge,” the astronaut added.

Maj Peake will be hosting a BBC podcast about the mission from next Monday.