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Your name could fly to the Moon: Nasa’s Artemis programme to begin soon

Nasa’s next crewed mission is set to carry four astronauts and a global audience on a 10-day journey around the Moon.

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jan 21, 2026 09:04 AM IST

A wet dress rehearsal refers to a final prelaunch simulation in which the rocket is ‌fully loaded with liquid propellant and undergoes a countdown but does not actually launch. (Image: NASA)

Nasa is working on another historic mission for human space exploration through Artemis II, which is going to send astronauts farther than any human has ever gone before in the 21st century. The Artemis II mission is expected to lift off as early as February 6, with backup launch opportunities later till April.

Once launched, the mission will send four astronauts on a roughly 10-day journey around the Moon. This will be the first time humans travel beyond low-Earth orbit and circle the Moon since the final Apollo mission in 1972.

The crew includes Nasa astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Together, they will travel aboard the Orion spacecraft, which will loop around the Moon before returning to Earth. The mission is designed to test systems and procedures needed for future lunar landings.

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“This historic mission will send humans farther from Earth than ever before and deliver the insights needed for us to return to the Moon,” Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman was quoted as saying by the agency’s website. “It’s a critical step forward for human exploration.”

Your name in space?

Adding to the excitement, Nasa is giving people around the world a chance to be part of the mission in a symbolic way. The space agency is inviting the public to send their names to the Moon aboard Artemis II. Anyone who registers will have their name stored on an SD card that will fly inside the Orion spacecraft during the mission.

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Nasa said millions of people have already signed up. “1.5 million names are flying around the Moon on Artemis II. Is yours one of them?” the agency said in a post on X. “It’s not too late to add your name to the mission, and it’s absolutely free.”

Those interested can submit their names through Nasa’s “Send Your Name with Artemis” programme until January 21. For those who want to get their name written, the process is quick and easy and takes less than five minutes. People simply need to visit Nasa’s “Send Your Name with Artemis” website, enter their first and last names along with a four- to seven-digit PIN code, and submit the details. Once the process is completed, a customised digital boarding pass can be downloaded as a keepsake for being part of the Artemis II mission.

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