NASA is giving people the option to add their name to Artemis I, an unmanned flight test of an SLS rocket that will seat the Orion spacecraft. The Orion unmanned spacecraft will attempt to reach the moon and even travel thousands of miles away. This is further than any spacecraft that will eventually carry humans has ever traveled. The entire mission will last a few weeks and will end with the spacecraft crashing into the Pacific Ocean. The launch is expected to take place sometime in May this year.
This test will eventually pave the way for the rocket that will land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon.
Anyone from all over the world can go to the NASA website (https://www.nasa.gov/send-your-name-with-artemis/) to add their name, which will be recorded on a flash drive that on board the spacecraft. The spacecraft is expected to arrive at the launch pad sometime on March 18.
Artemis I is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to build a long-lasting human presence on the moon for the future. NASA hopes this mission will provide a foundation on which to build the first crew flight on Artemis II. This is part of an ambitious plan that will see astronauts return to the moon with Artemis III. The timeline of these projects will all be based on the success of Artemis I.
NASA stated on its website: “All eyes will be on historic launch complex 39B when Orion and the Space Launch System (SLS) first lift off from NASA’s modernized Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will demonstrate our commitment and ability to extend human existence to the moon and beyond.”