NASA has announced that members of the public can now submit their names to be included on Artemis II, a historic mission that will send astronauts around the Moon in 2026.
Your name can go to the Moon on Artemis II
The names will be stored on a digital memory card, or SD card, which will travel inside the Orion spacecraft during its 10-day journey.
This symbolic gesture allows anyone to feel part of the mission, even if they are not physically travelling to space.
What is Artemis II?
Artemis II is the second mission under NASA’s Artemis program, which is focused on returning humans to the Moon and eventually preparing for crewed missions to Mars.
It will be the first time humans fly on NASA’s powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft.
The mission is scheduled to launch no later than April 2026 from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida (local time in Florida, which is Eastern Standard Time, will be converted to South African Standard Time when the exact launch time is confirmed).
Who is flying on this mission?
The crew for Artemis II includes four astronauts:
- Reid Wiseman – NASA astronaut and mission commander
- Victor Glover – NASA astronaut and pilot
- Christina Koch – NASA astronaut and mission specialist
- Jeremy Hansen – astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
They will be the first humans in more than 50 years to travel so far from Earth.
The journey around the Moon
The mission will begin with two days of tests close to Earth, as astronauts check Orion’s systems and manually handle the spacecraft.
After that, the crew will travel on a four-day trip toward the Moon, entering what NASA calls a figure-eight orbit.
This path will take them around the far side of the Moon, reaching about 4,600 miles (7,402 km) beyond it — the farthest distance humans have ever travelled from Earth. In total, the astronauts will cover more than 230,000 miles (370,000 km) before heading back home.
Orion will then re-enter Earth’s atmosphere at high speed before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, where NASA and the US Department of Defence will recover the spacecraft and crew.
NASA says Artemis II is a crucial step toward future space exploration. The mission will test spacecraft systems, study human health in space, and collect data about space radiation and communications.
What scientists learn will help prepare for Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts on the Moon’s surface.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson described the program’s goal as “scientific discovery, economic benefits, and laying the foundation for human missions to Mars.”
People interested in having their names included on Artemis II can sign up through NASA’s official website. Once submitted, the names will be saved to the onboard memory card, meaning they will symbolically join the astronauts on their lunar journey.