10/01/2025
WE'RE GOING TO THE MOON!!!! Well, kind of. Anyone that really knows me well, know that I have had a passion for astronomy/outer space since I was a kid. I have studied astronomy for so many years that I've lost track! Nonetheless, I thought this was kind of a cool thing! NASA is heading back to the moon in 2026 and is taking people's names along for the ride!
Four astronauts will fly around the Moon and back on Artemis II, the first crewed flight under NASA's Artemis campaign. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen will be the first humans aboard the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, Orion spacecraft, and supporting ground systems as the crew ventures into the harsh environment of space. This flight is another step toward crewed missions to the lunar surface and helping the agency prepare for future astronaut missions to Mars.
NASA is sending astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars. Artemis II will test NASA's deep space capabilities, as humans fly on the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft for the first time. The approximately 10-day mission will launch from Launch Complex 39 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida no later than April 2026.
The crew will perform initial checkouts of Orion’s systems and manually test the spacecraft’s handling near Earth over the first two days of the mission, before heading toward the Moon.
Orion's service module will provide the push needed to break free from Earth orbit and set course for the Moon. This translunar injection burn will send astronauts on a four-day outbound journey around the far side of the Moon in a figure eight pattern extending more than 230,000 miles from Earth. At maximum distance, the crew will fly approximately 4,600 miles beyond the Moon, evaluating spacecraft systems along the way. Several payloads will fly aboard Artemis II to expand our knowledge of space radiation, human health and behavior, and space communications. What we learn will help us advance future exploration efforts.
Orion will undergo high-speed reentry through Earth's atmosphere before safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, where a NASA and Department of Defense recovery team will retrieve the crew and spacecraft.
Submitted names will be included on an SD card that will fly inside Orion when the Artemis II mission launches in 2026! So, I signed us up to be a part of this mission back to the moon! They send you this cool little boarding pass thing that you can download/print out. It's totally free to sign up, so why not add your name or your teams name to the SD card and send yourself to the moon in a sense?
https://www3.nasa.gov/send-your-name-with-artemis/
