The crewed mission will test deep-space systems and pave the way for future Moon-Mars exploration.

By CNBCTV18

NASA has opened an exciting opportunity for people around the world to become part of its next major lunar mission,

Artemis II. The space agency is inviting people to submit their names, which will be stored on an SD card and flown

around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft in 2026.

First Crewed Artemis Flight Set for 2026

Artemis II will mark the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program, which seeks to return humans to the Moon and

lay the groundwork for future missions to Mars. The approximately 10-day journey, scheduled to launch no later than

April 2026, will take four astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut

Jeremy Hansen on a historic flight around the Moon and back.

Launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the mission will be the first to carry humans aboard the Space

Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft. During the initial phase of the mission, the crew will test Orion’s

life-support and navigation systems while conducting manual evaluations of the spacecraft near Earth.

Once the spacecraft is cleared for deep space, Orion’s service module will perform a powerful translunar injection burn,

sending the crew on a four-day journey toward the Moon. The spacecraft will fly in a wide figure-eight loop, extending

more than 230,000 miles from Earth and reaching nearly 4,600 miles beyond the lunar surface, farther than any human has

ever travelled.

Artemis II will also carry scientific payloads focused on studying space radiation, human behaviour in deep space, and

new communication technologies.

The insights gained from this mission will help NASA refine systems for future crewed missions, including

longer-duration flights to Mars. Those who wish to send their names on this mission can submit a first name, last name,

and a 4- to 7-digit PIN code on NASA’s official “Send Your Name with Artemis” portal.

https://www3.nasa.gov/send-your-name-with-artemis/

(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani )

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