TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – If you’ve ever wanted to be launched into space, NASA is offering what might just be the next best thing.
The agency announced Friday that it’s accepting names to be flown around the moon on the upcoming Artemis I mission. Artemis I is an uncrewed mission that will launch the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft into orbit. It will be the first flight test of the spacecraft and rocket.
Once in space, the Orion spacecraft is set to orbit around the moon. And NASA is asking anyone interested to add their name to that journey.
A flash drive will fly aboard Artemis I will carry all of the names of those who sign up. All you have to do to add your name to the flash drive is visit NASA’s website, enter your first and last name and select a PIN code. Once you do that, it automatically creates an account and generates a “boarding pass” for Artemis I.
Artemis I will lift off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It doesn’t have an official launch date yet but NASA is taking a major step toward that later this month. The Orion spacecraft and the SLS rocket – the most powerful rocket in the world – will roll out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy for the first time on March 17. It will then arrive at Launch Complex 39B on March 18, where it will go through heavy inspections.
“This is a mission that truly will do what hasn’t been done and learn what isn’t known,” Artemis I Mission Manager Mike Sarafin said. “It will blaze a trail that people will follow on the next Orion flight, pushing the edges of the envelope to prepare for that mission.”
Artemis I is just the first of the Artemis missions that will land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon.