NASA is inviting people around the world to take part in the historic Artemis II mission – the first crewed flight of the Artemis program – to submit their names for a trip around the moon in the Orion spacecraft. Through the “Send Your Name with Artemis II” initiative, launched in September 2025, anyone can register for free, and their name will be written to a digital SD card loaded into Orion before launch.
The approximately 10-day mission, which is not expected to launch before February 6, 2026 (with that window extending to April), will launch on a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will test critical systems in deep space, including life support, navigation, and performance with humans, paving the way for future moon landings and ultimately Mars missions.
**How to participate**
Registration is easy: visit NASA’s official portal (go.nasa.gov/artemisnames for English or go.nasa.gov/TuNombreArtemis for Spanish). Enter your first and last name as well as a 4 to 7 digit PIN (to secure your boarding pass). Last date is January 21, 2026. Upon submission, you’ll receive a personalized digital boarding pass as a keepsake – over 1.8 million names have already been registered.
**Crew**
Artemis II will carry four astronauts: NASA Commander Reed Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen. This will be the first time since Apollo 17 (1972) that humans will go beyond low Earth orbit.
**Importance of Mission**
Following the success of the uncrewed Artemis I in 2022, Artemis II will demonstrate Orion’s capabilities on a free-return lunar trajectory, confirming the hardware for sustainable lunar exploration and stimulating worldwide interest in space. As Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said, it’s a technological milestone that connects ordinary people to humanity’s pursuit of deep space.
Don’t miss your chance – submit your name before January 21st and join the journey to the moon!
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