NASA Invites Public to Send Names on Artemis II Lunar Orbit Mission
WASHINGTON – NASA is offering the public a chance to participate in its upcoming Artemis II mission by submitting their names to travel virtually with the four-person crew as it orbits the moon. The deadline to claim a spot is January 21.
The agency will fly the submitted names on an SD card aboard the Orion spacecraft during the 10-day test flight, scheduled for launch no later than April.Artemis II is a crucial step in NASA’s plan to return humans to the moon and prepare for future crewed missions to Mars.”This is a key test flight in our effort to return humans to the moon’s surface and build toward future missions to Mars,” said Lori Glaze,NASA’s acting associate director for exploration systems growth.
The Artemis II crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman,Victor Glover,and Christina Koch,alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut jeremy Hansen.Glover and Koch will make history as the first woman and person of color, respectively, to travel to the lunar vicinity.
Participants can download a personalized “boarding pass” as a souvenir after the mission. NASA has provided sign-up portals in both English and Spanish.
The initiative represents “another step” toward future U.S.-crewed moon landings and, ultimately, sending the first American astronauts to Mars.