nasa trip to space

Your name will fly around the Moon!

Artemis I will be the first uncrewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft. The flight paves the way toward landing the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon!

We’ve finished collecting names for Artemis I and are working on loading them onto the Orion spacecraft! If you’ve submitted your name, it is included on a flash drive that will fly aboard Orion on Artemis I later this year. Artemis Website for updates and stay tuned for launch of the mission, or sign up for the newsletter to receive NASA updates in your inbox.

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All eyes will be on the historic Launch Complex 39B when Orion and the Space Launch System (SLS) lift off for the first time from NASA's modernized Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond.

Artemis I will be the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to build a long-term human presence at the Moon for decades to come.

The spacecraft

The launch complex

The mission

NASA's Artemis 2 moon mission: Live updates

Nasa's artemis 2 mission is returning astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972. see live mission updates here..

You can launch a Space Launch System of your own with this Estes NASA SLS model rocket for a 1:200 scale version of NASA's moon megarocket. Read more about it .

NASA's Artemis 2 lunar mission in 2024 will send the first astronauts around the moon in nearly 50 years. The mission will launch four astronauts around the moon on a lunar flyby aboard an Orion spacecraft using a Space Launch System rocket.

Artemis 2 is an eight-day mission that will send three NASA astronauts and one Canadian Space Agency astronaut around the moon on a free-return trajectory. It is the last test flight before the Artemis 3 crewed moon landing mission in 2025.

See our complete coverage of the Artemis 2 mission below.

Meet the Artemis 2 crew | Artemis 2 explained | Latest news

Tariq Malik is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and has been covering human spaceflight for more than 18 years and space exploration overall for more than 20 years. He covered the final 22 space shuttle missions and NASA's ongoing International Space Station and Artemis program.

Elizabeth Howell first became interested in space after watching the movie "Apollo 13" as a teenager in 1996, kickstarting a lifelong fascination with the 1960s and 1970s human lunar landing program. She has watched five human spaceflight launches since and participated in a simulated Mars mission.

NASA's Artemis 2 rocket core stage arrives near launch pad in Florida

a rocket on its side going into a large building that has banners for the artemis program, the u.s. flag and nasa at the top

An astronaut crew's rocket made its last major journey on Earth before blasting off for the moon.

The core stage of Artemis 2 's rocket came to NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Tuesday (July 23). The rocket stage was offloaded from NASA's Pegasus barge, which shipped the rocket stage 900 miles (1,450 km) by water from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, in a seven-hour operation aided by remote controlled vehicles known as self-propelled modular transporters.

The 212-foot (65-meter) stage then made the half-mile (0.8 km) journey to NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building where it will eventually be joined to the rest of the Space Launch System rocket for a launch no earlier than September 2025.

Read more: Watch NASA's massive Artemis 2 rocket core stage arrive in Florida. Next stop: the moon (video, photos)

NASA livestream concludes

NASA just finished its livestream from the Kennedy Space Center area regarding the arrival of the Artemis 2 core stage at the facility. Watch Space.com for more coverage.

NASA live has begun with Artemis 2 core stage!

NASA has begun its livestream from the Kennedy Space Center area to broadcast the arrival of the Artemis 2 core stage at the facility. Watch live on X here .

Artemis 2 core stage to arrive at KSC

NASA will livestream the arrival of the Artemis 2 core stage at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Wednesday (July 23) on X, the agency announced . The livestream will start at 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT).

NASA 's Space Launch System (SLS) Artemis 2 booster left the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility , in New Orleans on July 16 for a journey on NASA's Pegasus barge to KSC, near Orlando. The core stage has reached the Floridian shore as of Monday (July 21), but has not yet gone on to KSC grounds, according to social media posts.

Artemis 2 is the first human lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972 and plans to send four astronauts around the moon no earlier than September 2025.

Artemis 2's NASA backup astronaut named to moon mission

A man wears a eye covering over his right eye and stares off into the distance. It looks like they are wearing some sort of spacesuit.

NASA astronaut Andre Douglas will serve as backup for the three U.S. astronauts on the Artemis 2 round-the-moon flight, the agency announced today (July 3).

Douglas will back up commander Reid Wiseman , pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch . Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen , who is also a mission specialist on Artemis 2, already has a backup: astronaut Jenni Gibbons, also with CSA.

"I've always been fascinated with new things. I like to develop things," Douglas told Space.com in March about the Artemis program , which later this decade aims to put astronauts on the moon's surface for the first time since 1972. "I really believe in pushing ourselves, in understanding what is our true potential: both me as an individual, [and] within all of us as a species."

"This is the perfect place to be, where we're going to push that boundary," he said.

Read more: NASA announces Artemis 2 moon mission backup astronaut — Andre Douglas will support 2025 lunar liftoff

that time when 3 moon astronauts once flew, supersonic-style, by a NASA lunar rocket on the pad

four white jets fly above a large orange rocket standing on a launch pad

Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman helped organize a special event in 2022: he was part of a group of astronauts flying the famous T-38 jet trainers past the Artemis 1 SLS on the launch pad on Aug. 23, 2022.

Nobody knew it back then, but three of the four Artemis 2 crew were in the tight formation: Wiseman, NASA mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen . (Only absent was NASA pilot Victor Glover , who was away on other duties at the time.)

Read more: What's it like to buzz an Artemis SLS moon rocket with a supersonic jet? NASA's Artemis 2 commander tells all

Artemis 2 moon astronauts meet President Biden

four humans in blue jackets smile before microphones, in front of a white building.

NASA's Artemis 2 moon crew, led by NASA , met with U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday (Dec. 14) and talked with reporters afterwards about the support Biden is offering for the historic mission, the first to fly to the moon with humans since 1972.

The crew talked to Biden "about their training and science plans for the mission, set to launch in late 2024," according to a small update on NASA HQ Photo's X account (formerly Twitter). Aside from Wiseman, the Artemis 2 astronauts include NASA pilot Victor Glover (the first person of color to leave low Earth orbit ), NASA mission specialist Christina Koch (the first woman) and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen (the first non-American).

Read more: Artemis 2 astronauts meet President Biden to talk America's next trip to the moon

Artemis 2 moon mission hardware building up at NASA centers

two people in hard hats looking up at a rocket on a crane

NASA's Artemis 2 mission remains on track to send four astronauts around the moon in late 2024. The crew is continuing their training while the hardware that will carry them to space — the Orion capsule and giant Space Launch System (SLS) rocket — is being readied at different NASA centers.

Read more: NASA building giant Artemis 2 moon rocket ahead of 2024 launch

Artemis 2 astronauts autograph moon rocket

christina koch wears a cleanroom suit and hat and signs her name on a spherical, gridded rocket stage

The Artemis 2 crew signed their names Monday (Nov. 27) on the adapter for their Orion spacecraft , which will be mounted on top of the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The rocket will send them around the moon in 2024.

The four astronauts, wearing cleanroom outfits, were visiting NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The adapter will be under Orion during the launch, the first human one to the moon since 1972.

Read more: Artemis 2 moon astronauts autograph their own rocket 1 year before launch

Canadian Space Agency names backup astronaut for Artemis 2

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jenni Sidey-Gibbons standing in front of the canadian flag in a blue flight suit

The Canadian Space Agency may bring the third Canadian woman into space as soon as 2024, should she be needed for a moon mission.

Fire scientist Jenni Gibbons was named Tuesday (Nov. 22) as backup for Jeremy Hansen , the CSA astronaut flying around the moon with Artemis 2 in 2024. The CSA is a signatory to the NASA -led Artemis Accords that has two purposes: peaceful space exploration norms and for some participants, moon missions.

That wasn't the only big space news for CSA on Tuesday. Canada typically receives missions every six years based on its ISS contributions, and current spacecraft capacity. The next long-duration mission will be with Joshua Kutryk, a test pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force, will fly on the first operational Boeing Starliner mission in 2025 for a half-year mission to the ISS.

Read more: Canada assigns astronauts to launch on Boeing's Starliner, back up Artemis 2 moon mission

Artemis 2 readies for astronaut moon launch 1 year after Artemis 1

Space fans, get ready to start your moon engines.

NASA's Artemis 1 uncrewed moon mission lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Nov. 16, 2022. One year later, the next moon rocket ride for astronauts is in testing for a new mission that could launch in late 2024.

The crewed mission, known as Artemis 2 , will send four astronauts around the moon. As the quartet continue their complex training, their Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, side boosters, Orion spacecraft and other key elements are under assembly in various parts of the United States.

Read more: 1 year after Artemis 1 launch, NASA readies Artemis 2 to shoot for the moon again (video)

Artemis 2 moon spacecraft powers on ahead of 2024 mission

an open spacecraft hatch with christina koch far in the background

The Orion spacecraft for Artemis 2 powered on this week successfully ahead of its historic moon mission with four astronauts in 2024.

Seeing power flow to Orion was a large milestone following the moment when the American-made crew module and European Service Module (ESM) joined at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in mid-October, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).

Once ready, Orion will carry NASA 's Reid Wiseman , Victor Glover , Christina Koch and the Canadian Space Agency 's Jeremy Hansen , who are undergoing 18 months of training to get ready for the first human moon mission in 52 years.

Read more: NASA powers up Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft ahead of 2024 moon mission

Boosters assemble! Artemis 2 moon rockets come together in new video

An astronaut moon rocket comes together at NASA in a new epic video.

Twin rocket boosters for Artemis 2 , now being assembled at NASA's Kennedy Space Center , will assist the agency's powerful Space Launch System rocket as it sends four astronauts on a round-the- moon mission in 2024.

You can watch KSC teams piece together parts of each booster's aft assembly – the booster part that steers them during flight.

Read more: Watch NASA build Artemis 2 astronaut moon rocket boosters ahead of 2024 launch (video)

Canadian astronaut ready for the moon, his first mission in space

an astronaut smiles for a portrait in an orange spacesuit

After 15 years waiting for space, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen is getting ready for the moon . He is one of the mission specialists aboard Artemis 2 , which aims to launch four astronauts in 2024, and says the first seven months of training for the NASA mission is reinforcing to him all the years of experience he already has in assisting with human space missions and space policy.

"The only thing that does feel different is that there is this personal aspect of, 'I've been working to actually fly in space and do the astronaut aspects'," Hansen told Space.com in an exclusive 30-minute interview on Friday (Oct. 27.) "It does feel like it's getting closer, and much closer, than it's ever felt before. So there is that sense, and that is really fun for me."

Read more: Artemis 2 moon astronaut says crew is ready for ambitious 2024 mission

Artemis 2 mobile launcher soaked in 'water flow test'

water splashes and froths at the base of a large metal tower

The mobile launcher for Artemis 2 , a big moon mission, got soaked Tuesday (Oct. 24) in a mission safety test ahead of the 2024 mission.

The mobile launcher that will be used to launch the powerful Space Launch System rocket had a "water flow test", the third at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to "verify the overpressure protection and sound suppression system is ready for launch," NASA officials wrote in a brief statement Thursday (Oct. 26).

"During liftoff, 400,000 gallons (1.5 million liters) of water will rush onto the pad to help protect NASA's SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft , mobile launcher, and launch pad from any over pressurization and extreme sound produced during ignition and liftoff," agency officials added.

Read more: Watch NASA's Artemis 2 mobile rocket launcher get soaked during water deluge test (video)

Orion spacecraft for Artemis astronaut moon mission assembled

a distant spacecraft in a manufacturing facility surrounded by workers in hard hats

NASA's astronaut moon spacecraft is under assembly. The Orion spacecraft for Artemis 2 's round-the- moon mission in 2024 had its crew and service modules joined at NASA on Oct. 19.

More tests are planned on the joined pieces, including power-on examinations and altitude chamber testing. It's a significant milestone for the mission that will carry four astronauts to lunar realms in just over a year.

Read more: Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft comes together ahead of 2024 moon mission (photos)

NASA shows off Artemis moon astronauts' electric car for launch pad rides

A futuristic interior of a vehicle is shown with black floors and white seats. In the spacious back sits Campos, a manikin in an orange Artemis flight suit. Campos flew aboard the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis I mission in order to collect important data that will prepare astronauts for future Artemis missions.

NASA recently displayed the shiny inside of its new fleet of astronaut cars from Canoo Technologies Inc., all assigned to the Artemis program . It was the first look at the interior ahead of the debut crew Artemis 2 , using the all-electric vehicles to get the the launch pad for their round-the-moon mission starting in 2024.

The moon crew's car interior came to light at a racing event: The Formula 1 (F1) Grand Prix of the United States in Austin, Texas between Oct. 20 and 22. Artemis 2 astronauts Reid Wiseman (from NASA ) and Jeremy Hansen (from the Canadian Space Agency ) also were there on Oct. 22 talking with some of the racing companies.

Read more: NASA's Artemis moon astronauts will ride to the launch pad in these sleek electric cars (photos)

Artemis 2 core stage faces welding issues: report

While Artemis 2 remains on track for its round-the-moon mission with astronauts in 2024, welding issues on the core stage of its massive rocket are ongoing, a report suggests.

The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket's core stage, expected to launch the four-astronaut Artemis 2 around the moon , is facing unspecified "weld issues" during assembly at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. The issue was reported in NASA Spaceflight and NASA did not immediately respond to queries from Space.com about the matter.

Read more: Welding issues stall Artemis 2 moon rocket's assembly, but 2024 mission still on track: report

How Artemis 2 moon astronauts will live in space

four people in white cleansuits and hair nets smile in front of a cone-shaped spacecraft in a laboratory

The Artemis 2 astronauts and other personnel are testing living activities the crew will do on the 10-day moon mission, including sleeping, eating and of course, going to the bathroom. The four astronauts will spend all of their time in the Orion spacecraft , learning how to live and work together in a small space.

Read more: Here's how Artemis 2 astronauts will exercise, sleep and use the toilet on their moon mission (photos)

Artemis 2 moon astronauts rehearse for launch day

four people in spacesuits standing in a group and smiling at camera. behind is distant view of water and grass

The Artemis 2 moon astronauts practiced for launch day at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday (Sept. 20), complete with spacesuits and a drive to the launch pad to ascend the mobile launcher.

"I just had images of all those Apollo launches and shuttle launches that I saw as a kid and it was unreal," Artemis 2 pilot Victor Glover said in a NASA statement . "I actually had to stop and just stay in the moment to really let it all sink in."

Aboard the round-the- moon mission, slated to launch in late 2024, will be NASA commander Reid Wiseman , NASA pilot Victor Glover (the first person of color to leave Earth orbit), NASA mission specialist Christina Koch (the first woman to do so) and the Canadian Space Agency 's Jeremy Hansen (the first non-American).

Read more: Artemis 2 astronaut crew suits up for moon launch dress rehearsal (photos, video)

Artemis 2 moon astronauts do splashdown training with US Navy

helicopter hovering over the ocean with a basket underneath. a raft on the ocean to the right holds a group of sailors

The Artemis 2 astronauts worked with the U.S. Navy team recently on splashdown operations. The Navy and NASA are training to recover the four-person crew, which will circle around the moon no earlier than November 2024, after they complete their 10-day mission.

While the crew familiarized themselves with the team and procedures, NASA and the Department of Defense practiced recovery operations nearby San Diego using equipment such as helicopters, boats and the USS John P. Murtha.

Read more: See Artemis 2 moon astronauts train with US Navy for Orion splashdown (photos, video)

NASA finishes first practice countdown for Artemis 2

The Artemis 2 launching team at NASA recently finished their first dress rehearsal to send four astronauts safely into space to go around the moon.

This crucial "sim" is one of many that NASA will do for the November 2024 mission. The mission includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

Read more: NASA practices for 2024 launch of Artemis 2 moon mission

Artemis 2 astronauts deep in moon training

four astronauts standing in a row with a dramatic spotlight behind them. the astronauts wear orange flight suits

The first moon crew in 52 years, Artemis 2 , includes a lot of diversity. They've been to the International Space Station , the U.S. Senate, in combat and in many other locations.

Now as the foursome — NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen — get ready for the moon , lead training officer Jacki Mahaffey told Space.com how she is using their experience in training.

Read more: How Artemis 2 astronauts are training for their 2024 moon mission

Artemis 2 crew member praises NASA supersonic jet

a cockpit view of jeremy hansen masked up with sunglasses and an oxygen mask. behind him is the dome of the aircraft and another astronaut, jenni sidey-gibbons, barely visible in another seat

A moon astronaut recently honored the decades of supersonic trainer work that NASA has put in with its T-38s.

Artemis 2 Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen praised the supersonic T-38 trainer jet for its ability to keep astronauts on their toes while in flight. "We use these airplanes because they're challenging," Hansen said in a video released Tuesday (July 18) on the CSA's social media channels.

Manufacturer Northrop Grumman says more than 72,000 U.S. Air Force pilots have trained in the T-38 since it first rolled off the line in 1961. Though it was only manufactured until 1972, more than 500 continue to be used by both the Air Force and NASA.

Read more: Artemis 2 moon astronaut explains risk of flying NASA's supersonic training jet

3 Orion spacecraft line up for their moon missions

Three crew-carrying spacecraft are getting ready for their big moon missions.

The Orion capsules for the Artemis 2, Artemis 3 and Artemis 4 moon missions are coming together at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida under stewardship of contractor Lockheed Martin.

"The future of @NASA_Orion is looking pretty good," Lockheed officials wrote on Twitter Friday (July 14) of the three spacecraft, each of which is expected to ferry astronauts to the moon starting in late 2024 or so.

Read more: These 3 Orion spacecraft will carry Artemis astronauts to the moon (photo)

Artemis 2 astronaut plays cowboy at Calgary Stampede

artemis 2 astronaut jeremy hansen on board a horse in a flight suit. a ring is behind him

Canadian Artemis 2 moon astronaut Jeremy Hansen, partnering with his borrowed horse Cisco , pretended to be a cowboy at Canada's Calgary Stampede fair last week in the western province of Alberta.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who flew on the space shuttle Columbia in 1986 while a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, also visited the event. The two appeared in flight suits and cowboy hats as part of the celebration of cowboy culture, which annually draws a million participants.

Read more: Yeehaw! NASA chief and Artemis 2 moon astronaut play cowboy for a day (photo)

Artemis 2 astronaut completes vision quest

totem pole in the foreground of a picture with cloudy sky in behind. far in the back is a lodge and cars, with a road leading to it. trees surround the scene

An Artemis 2 astronaut recently finished a vision quest to help prepare for his upcoming trip around the moon.

Jeremy Hansen recently participated in the four-day Indigenous rite of passage as part of Artemis 2 mission training, the Canadian Space Agency astronaut tweeted.

"I would like to express my gratitude to Anishinaabe Elder David Courchene III 'Sabe' for the gracious invitation," Hansen said of the ceremony , which took place at Turtle Lodge in Manitoba on the lands of the Sagkeeng First Nation (also known as Fort Alexander).

On Tuesday (June 13), Hansen added he has completed the ceremony and "I have a renewed appreciation for all that Mother Earth provides, especially water."

Read more: Artemis 2 astronaut goes on vision quest to prepare for moon mission

Artemis 2 mission benefits from Canadian winter experience

Cold weather is helping to boost the fortunes of Canada in space, including its contributions to Artemis 2 .

Astronaut Jeremy Hansen will the first non-American to leave low Earth orbit, alongside three NASA crewmates, no earlier than 2024. Canadian leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau argues that Canada's winter experience is one big reason for its success in space.

Trudeau emphasized that working in Canada's north helped with numerous kinds of technology, including the Canadarm robotic arm series that has provided Canadian astronaut seats for nearly 40 years.

The Arctic in particular represents "some of the harshest environments" available to humans, and Trudeau joked that when asked about why Canada does so well in space, he responds: "Obvious. Winter."

Read more: Winter is coming: Artemis 2 moon mission gets boost from Canadian cold

Artemis 2 astronauts thrilled for moon mission

The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis 2 mission are thrilled, to say the least, to be on the crew that will send the first humans to the moon in more than 50 years. You can read our full story here .

Set to launch on a Space Launch System megarocket in 2024, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency will fly around the moon, much like Apollo 8, on their Orion spacecraft.

Here's what they had to say of the mission today:

Commander Reid Wiseman: "This is a global effort, Artemis 2, and it's only going to get larger with Artemis 3 and beyond as we get private spaceflight involved. SpaceX is building our lander for Artemis 3. So to the NASA workforce, to our program managers, our center directors that are here, the amazing political support that we feel right now to bring our country together to bring our entire world together to go explore to get to Mars and beyond, we say a huge thank you."

Pilot Victor Glover: " We need to celebrate this moment in human history. Because Artemis two is more than a mission to the moon and it's more than a mission that has to happen before we send people to the surface of the moon. It is the next step on the journey that gets humanity to Mars. "Human spaceflight is like a relay race, and that baton has been passed generation to generation and from crew member to crew member from the Gemini, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Apollo Soyuz, Skylab Mir, the shuttle, International Space Station, commercial crew and and now the Artemis missions. We understand our role in that. And when we have the privilege of having that baton. We're going to do our best to run a good race to make you proud. I pray that God will bless this mission. But I also pray that we can continue to serve as a source of inspiration for cooperation and peace, not just between nations, but in our own nation."

Mission specialist Christina Koch: "When I think about this mission, that's a relay race with international partners, it's all so awesome in and of itself.

"We are going to launch for Kennedy Space Center to the work of the exploration Ground Systems team. We're going to hear the words go for launch on top of the most powerful rocket NASA's ever made the Space Launch System, and we're gonna ride that rocket for eight minutes into Earth orbit. We're not going to go to the moon right away. We're gonna stay in an amazing high orbit, reaching a peak of tens of thousands of miles while we test out all the systems on Orion and see how it maneuvers in space. And then if everything was good, we're heading to the moon.

"It will be a four day journey, going a quarter of a million miles, continuing to test out every bit of Orion going around the far side of the moon, heading home going through the Earth's atmosphere at over 25,000 miles per hour and splashing down in the Pacific. So am I excited? Absolutely. But my real question is Are you excited? I asked that because the one thing I'm most excited about is that we are going to carry your excitement, your aspirations, your dreams with us on this mission. Artemis to your mission."

Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen: "Our scientists or engineers, the Canadian Space Agency, the Canadian Armed Forces across government, all of our leadership working together under a vision to take step by step and all of those have added up to this moment where a Canadian is going to the moon with our international partnership and it is glorious."

Artemis 2 Moon Astronauts Revealed!

NASA's Artemis 2 moon crew are unveiled to the world, standing on a stage at Ellington Field near Johnson Space Center in Houston on April 3, 2023.

NASA chief Bill Nelson has unveiled the first astronaut crew to visit the moon in more than 50 years. They Artemis 2 crew are:

Commander Reid Wiseman, NASA

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman at a 2015 public appearance in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, speaks in front of a photograph of the moon. As NASA's new Chief of the Astronaut Office, Wiseman may select the next crews to orbit and possibly land on the moon.

Reid Wiseman, 47, spent 165 days in Earth orbit on his first mission, a 2014 flight to the ISS. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, and former fighter pilot for the U.S. Navy, he was selected for NASA's 20th astronaut class in 2009. Wiseman recently served as chief of NASA's astronaut office from 2020 to 2022.

Pilot Victor Glover, NASA

Victor Glover, 46, became a NASA astronaut in 2013. He flew as pilot of SpaceX's first operational crewed spaceflight (Crew-1) and logged 167 days on the ISS in 2021. Born in Pomona, California, he is an engineer and captain in the U.S. Navy. Glover was the first Black astronaut to serve on a space station crew.

Mission Specialist Christina Koch, NASA

August, 2019: Expedition 60 Flight Engineer Christina Koch of NASA conducts science operations for the BioFabrication Facility experiment researching the effectiveness of using 3D biological printers to produce usable human organs in microgravity.

Christina Koch, 44, was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and raised in Jacksonville, North Carolina. A member of NASA's 21st astronaut class selected in 2013, Koch set a record aboard the International Space Station for the single longest mission by a woman at 328 days. During that 2019 stay, she was also one-half of the first-ever all-female spacewalk. Koch is an engineer and former U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) station chief.

Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Canadian Space Agency

Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen participates in extravehicular activity training at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory near NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Jeremy Hansen, 47, was chosen to join Canada's astronaut corps in 2009. A colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force, he was born in London, Ontario. Though Artemis 2 will be his first time in space, Hansen served as an aquanaut aboard the Aquarius underwater lab in 2014 and took a turn as a "cavenaut" as part of the European Space Agency's CAVES astronaut training course the year prior.

NASA Artemis 2 moon crew announcement underway

NASA's Artemis 2 moon astronaut crew reveal is underway live on NASA TV.

Speaking before a huge crowd at the Ellington Field in Houston, NASA's chief astronaut Joe Acaba began by inviting the entire astronaut corps to the stage.

"Your Artemis 2 astronauts are in the room with you ... I am not one of them," he said.

Canada's government minister responsible for space, François-Philippe Champagne, hailed the 60 year partnership of NASA + CSA and Canada's contribution of the CanadArm3 for the Gateway station around the moon: "We're going to the moon!" he cheered.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is now preparing to introduce the crew.

This post has been corrected to reflect François-Philippe Champagne's proper title.

NASA to announce Artemis 2 crew today

NASA's Artemis 2 moon mission crew teaser with four astronauts in spacesuits.

At long last, we're going to learn which astronauts will fly NASA's first crewed mission to the moon of the Artemis generation.

Today, April 3, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency will announce the four astronauts who will fly on the Artemis 2 mission around the moon in 2024. That crew is expected to include one Canadian astronaut and three NASA astronaut s, but exactly who is yet to be revealed.

NASA will announce the crew in an event at Ellington Field near the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT). Space.com staff writer Elizabeth Howell is on the scene at the event alongside contributor Robert Pearlman of collectSPACE.com.

You'll be able to watch it live on Space.com , as well as at the top of this page at start time.

While we wait, here's a nifty trailer from NASA for today's Artemis 2 crew reveal.

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NASA introduces 4 astronauts who will fly to the moon on Artemis II mission

By William Harwood

Updated on: April 3, 2023 / 7:29 PM EDT / CBS News

A Canadian astronaut and three NASA veterans, including one of the world's most experienced female spacewalkers, will fly around the moon next year in the first piloted voyage beyond Earth orbit since the Apollo program ended 50 years ago, the space agency announced Monday.

NASA's Reid Wiseman , Christina Koch and Victor Glover will join Canadian rookie Jeremy Hansen aboard an Orion crew capsule for the Artemis program 's second fight, the first carrying a crew bound for the moon. The Artemis II mission is intended to pave the way toward the first moon landing — Artemis III — in the 2025-26 timeframe.

"Artemis II is more than a mission to the moon and back," Glover said. "It's more than a mission that has to happen before we send people to the surface of the moon. It is the next step on the journey that gets humanity to Mars. ... And this crew will never forget that."

Wiseman, Koch and Glover are all veterans of long-duration stays aboard the International Space Station while Hansen will be making his first space flight.

"It's been more than a half-century since astronauts journeyed to the moon. Well, folks, that's about to change.The mission to the moon will launch four pioneers, but it will carry more than astronauts — Artemis II will carry the hopes of millions of people around the world," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said before introducing the crew.

Navy Capt. Reid Wiseman, 47, a widowed father of two, is a veteran F/A-18F Super Hornet pilot who holds a master's in systems engineering. He launched aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 2014 and spent 165 days aboard the space station, then served as chief astronaut after his return to Earth.

Koch, 44, holds a master's in electrical engineering who has experience in Antarctic research. She also launched aboard a Soyuz and spent nearly a full year aboard the lab in 2019-20, venturing outside for six spacewalks, including three all-female excursions. With 42 hours and 15 minutes of EVA time, she ranks third on the list of most experienced female spacewalkers.

Glover, 46, is a Navy captain, a father of four and one of only a half dozen African Americans in NASA's astronaut corps. He launched to the station aboard the first operational SpaceX Crew Dragon mission in 2021-22, logging 168 days in orbit. Glover is a veteran test pilot with more than 3,000 hours of flight time and more than 400 carrier landings.

Hansen, a 47-year-old colonel in the Canadian armed forces and father of three, is a veteran F-18 fighter pilot. He will be the ninth Canadian to fly in space and the first to venture beyond Earth orbit.

A Canadian seat on the historic mission acknowledges Canada's development of the robot arm that was key to assembling the International Space Station and the ongoing development of another arm for NASA's planned Gateway lunar orbit outpost

"So here we have it: Reid, Victor, Christina and Jeremy," Nelson told a packed hangar at Ellington Field near the Johnson Space Center in Houston. "Each of these adventures has their own story, but together, they represent our creed: E pluribus unum: out of many, one.

"Together, we will usher in a new era of exploration for a new generation of star sailors and dreamers, the Artemis generation," he said. "Together, we are going to the moon to Mars, and beyond."

Said Hansen: "There are two reasons why a Canadian is going to the moon. The first one is American leadership. It is not lost on any of us that the United States could choose to go back to the moon by themselves. But America has made a very deliberate choice over decades to curate a global team."

The second reason, he said, was Canada's "can-do attitude."

"For decades now, literally thousands upon thousands of Canadians have risen to that challenge to bring real value to the international partnership with respect to space exploration. ... And all of those have added up to this moment where a Canadian is going to the moon with our international partnership. And it is glorious!"

NASA is focused on operating the space station through 2030 while transitioning to deep space exploration with Artemis missions to the moon and, eventually, piloted flights to Mars. It's anyone's guess how far off a Mars mission might be, but NASA fully intends to land astronauts back on the moon within the next few years.

As the Obama administration was winding down, NASA was tentatively planning a return to the moon toward the end of the decade. But the Trump administration ordered the agency to accelerate those plans, initially calling for astronauts to land on the moon by the end of 2024 — a clearly unrealistic expectation then and now.

Those plans eventually morphed into what NASA calls the Artemis program, a series of missions designed to establish a long-term presence on and around the moon.

Along with ongoing development of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, which will be put to the test in the Artemis II mission, NASA has hired SpaceX to build a lunar lander based on the design of the company's yet-to-fly Starship rocket.

At the same time, NASA contractors are building a mini space station, Gateway, that will be robotically assembled in lunar orbit to serve as a research outpost and staging base for flights to and from the surface.

For Artemis, NASA is targeting the lunar south pole where data from orbiting spacecraft indicate deposits of ice might be present in permanently shadowed craters. Ice could provide future astronauts a valuable source of air, water and rocket propellants — hydrogen and oxygen — to facilitate future deep space exploration.

The first Artemis mission , launched last October, sent an unpiloted Orion capsule around the moon in the maiden flight of NASA's Space Launch System moon rocket.

For the Artemis II mission, Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen will be the first astronauts to launch atop the gargantuan SLS rocket and the first to test the Orion capsule in flight.

They'll spend a day in a high Earth orbit, testing Orion's rendezvous systems, and then fire the spacecraft's service module engine to put the ship on a trajectory that will carry the crew well beyond the moon.

Unlike the historic Apollo 8 crew, which orbited the moon in 1968, the Artemis II crew will not go into orbit or fly closer than about 5,000 miles of the cratered surface. Instead, they will fly a so-called "free-return" trajectory, using the moon's gravity to bend the flight path back toward Earth and a Pacific Ocean splashdown.

"We're going to hear the words 'go for launch' on top of the most powerful rocket NASA's ever made, the Space Launch System, and we're gonna ride that rocket for eight minutes into Earth orbit," Koch said.

"We're not going to go to the moon right away. We're going to stay in an amazing high orbit, reaching a peak of tens of thousands of miles while we test out all the systems on Orion, and even see how it maneuvers in space. And then if everything looks good, we're heading to the moon."

The outbound quarter-million-mile journey will take four days. Along the way, Koch said, the crew will continue testing "every bit of Orion going around the far side of the moon, heading home, going through the Earth's atmosphere at over 25,000 miles per hour and splashing down in the Pacific. So am I excited? Absolutely!"

Assuming Artemis II goes well, NASA plans to send another four astronauts to the moon in the 2025-26 timeframe — Artemis III — including the next man and the first woman to walk on the moon.

NASA has also said the Artemis program will send the first person of color to the lunar surface, although it's not yet known whether that yet-to-be-named astronaut will be assigned to the Artemis III crew or a downstream mission.

One of the biggest unknowns at this point is the status of the Starship lander.

The Starship relies on SpaceX's huge super-heavy booster to reach Earth orbit, followed by multiple refueling missions to load it up with enough cryogenic propellants to head for the moon. One unpiloted moon landing is planned before the Artemis III flight with astronauts aboard.

SpaceX is gearing up to launch the first super heavy/Starship on an unpiloted maiden test fight around Earth. Whether SpaceX can launch enough test flights over the next two to three years to give NASA the confidence it will need for a piloted lunar landing mission remains to be seen.

Artemis Program

Bill Harwood has been covering the U.S. space program full-time since 1984, first as Cape Canaveral bureau chief for United Press International and now as a consultant for CBS News.

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Here’s a Sneak Peek at the Far-Out Future of Space Travel

From Star Trek–like medical scanners to concepts for off-planet agriculture like in The Expanse , science fiction has often inspired actual research at NASA and other space agencies. This week, researchers are meeting at a virtual conference for the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program to brainstorm and investigate sci-fi-like ideas, some of which may very well shape the missions of the next 20 years.

A drone helicopter hopping about a Martian crater or a lunar rover that maps moon ice might have seemed far-fetched a decade ago, but the copter actually flew earlier this year, and the rover is in the planning stages. Now the conference organizers have solicited proposals for more exploratory projects, a few of which the agency might eventually fund. “We invest in long-term, far-out technologies, and most of them probably won’t work. The ones that do might change everything. It’s high risk, high payoff, almost like a venture capital investment portfolio,” says Jason Derleth, the NIAC program executive.

The program isn’t focused on incremental developments but instead seeks game-changing technologies, ones that are 10 times better than the state of the art, Derleth says. He likens it to the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which also explores extremely speculative concepts but developed the precursor to the modern internet, among other innovations.

The annual conference , which continues through Thursday, September 23, is publicly viewable on NIAC’s livestream . Some of the proposals discussed so far—such as for new ways to launch foldable space stations or astronaut habitats, or to extract resources from other worlds—revolve around the understanding that, for lengthy space voyages, you have to make the most of every rocket launch.

The next generation of space travelers will need resources for survival, for protective structures, and to fuel the journey further or return home. “This leaves us with two options: Take everything with us, like if you were going on a hiking trip in the desert. Or find new and creative ways to use whatever is already there,” says Amelia Greig, an aerospace engineer at University of Texas at El Paso, who presented at the conference on Tuesday.

To aid creative reuse of lunar resources, Greig and her colleagues propose a technology called ablative arc mining, which would slurp up water ice and the kinds of metals that could be used as building materials. “It’s like using controlled lightning bolts to mine the moon,” she said during her presentation. Her concept describes a van-sized moon crawler—named after the Jawa sandcrawlers of Star Wars —that picks a spot, and then places a ringed device that it carries on its front end parallel to the ground. Electric arcs zap across the ring, which can be made as large as a meter in diameter, ripping particles from the moon’s surface. Those particles, now charged, can then be moved and sorted by the machine’s electromagnetic fields. That way, rather than scoping just one resource, a single piece of equipment could fill one container with water, another with oxygen attached to other elements, and others with silicon, aluminum, or other metal particles.

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An artistic representation of the ablative arc mining system deployed into a crater near the lunar south pole.

But, like all early concepts, it faces practical challenges that would have to be overcome: In this case, the moon’s dusty environment could cause problems by getting stuck in the machinery, which would have to be made dust-proof. To hunt for water ice, the crawlers also will have to trundle into permanently shadowed craters, which contain water at about 6 percent by mass but are extremely cold and dark. The crawlers’ electronics would have to be designed to operate in those rugged conditions and with a non-solar power source. It also would be tough for any astronaut to oversee them, though they could monitor the mining from the crater’s rim. NASA estimates that permanent lunar settlements will need around 10,000 kilograms of water per year. That would require at least 20 of these kinds of crawlers roving about, gradually collecting those supplies, unless this technology was supplemented with something else. For now, Greig just hopes to test a smaller demonstration version of the crawler in a few years.

Space mining projects have also prompted ethical questions. For example, scientists and others have raised concerns about lunar mining permanently changing the look of the moon in the night sky. But Greig points out that ablative arc mining wouldn’t look like the environmentally harmful pit mines on Earth; the mining region could be spread out, making some craters only slightly deeper. And as for sustainability issues, she says, “there’s enough water to last human settlements hundreds of years.”

Stop-motion representation of the arc mining process on the lunar surface.

As a potential launching point for moon-goers and expeditions to deep space, NASA has proposed a space station orbiting the moon called the Lunar Gateway . But Zachary Manchester, a roboticist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, argues that the limited size of rockets allows few options for launching large structures for a lunar station. “If you want something that’s bigger than a rocket fairing, which is at most a few meters, it has to get launched in multiple rockets and assembled in orbit, like the International Space Station . Or it has to somehow get scrunched up into that rocket and then somehow expand out,” Manchester says.

At a session Wednesday, he and Jeffrey Lipton, a mechanical engineer at the University of Washington, proposed a space station that would fit into that confined space. Then, once deployed, it would unfold autonomously, like origami, into a full-sized structure, some 150 times bigger than its folded size. Preliminary designs involve a many-jointed structure made of titanium, aluminum, or another metal.

Since future astronauts will likely be on-station for a while, it would need to rotate to generate artificial gravity to avoid the deleterious health effects of prolonged periods in zero-G. But humans are sensitive to spinning; no one wants to live on a merry-go-round. “If you try to build a rotating space habitat, the only way to do it without making people motion-sick is to spin at up to two revolutions per minute,” Manchester says. To produce Earth-like gravity, such a space station needs to be a kilometer across, he argues. Yet squishing such a massive structure into a tiny space until it’s deployed poses a significant engineering challenge. In addition, to make their idea a reality, Manchester and Lipton ultimately need to figure out how to make the unfolding process not get jammed, despite the structure’s thousands of links and joints.

An artist's illustration of the Lunar Gateway in orbit around the moon.

Like packing for the biggest road trip ever, NASA will face similar challenges when fitting everything needed for moon or Mars structures onto rockets. To lighten the load, some scientists have suggested using Martian rocks as material for 3D-printing parts of structures. (A simulated lunar regolith is currently being test-printed aboard the International Space Station.) But Lynn Rothschild, an astrobiologist at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, has a completely different idea: making structures out of mushrooms—or “mycotecture,” as she calls it. “The humble mushroom can provide an unbelievable building material. It’s completely natural, compostable, and the ultimate green building,” Rothschild says.

Although fungi could be used to grow the material for actual bricks and mortar that astronauts could use for construction, the best kind of space habitat would be assembled before they even arrive. Her team’s proposal involves launching a lander that would include plastic scaffolding and fungal mycelia, white filaments that make the root structure of fungi. (Like yeasts, mycelia can survive for a while without being fed.) The scaffolding would be a lattice of square hollow plastic cells, stitched into layers to make the shape of the final structure. On Mars, it would inflate to perhaps the size of a garage. Using water and oxygen—at least some of which would likely have been sourced or generated on Mars—the fungi would grow along those stitches and fill the cells, eventually turning a tent-like structure into a full-fledged building.

For strength and protection from space radiation, Rothschild thinks some kind of dark fungi could do the trick. “Black fungi—they make you say ‘Blecch,’ they look kind of disgusting. But the black pigment tends to protect from radiation, protecting the fungi and the people inside the habitat,” Rothschild says. She hopes to send a prototype to the International Space Station in the next few years.

Unlike the moon, Mars was once friendly to life . So Rothschild is designing the scaffolding to prevent any chance of renegade fungi escaping beyond the astronauts’ structures. (The last thing NASA wants is for a search for life on other worlds to turn up something that actually came from Earth .) In her team’s design, the fungi are essentially “double-bagged,” with an extra layer in the plastic lattice to ensure they all stay in.

To address those issues, space agencies have “planetary protection” experts like Moogega Cooper, supervisor of the Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who spoke at the NIAC conference. “Anywhere you are possibly interacting with liquid water that is inherent to the place, your exploring would definitely catch our attention. Where you find water you may find life,” she says. The United States is one of the original signatories of the Outer Space Treaty, which requires that every space agency or company that wants to send a mission to an alien world make sure the spacecraft and all the equipment aboard are sterilized.

While the NIAC program has a budget of just $8.5 million per year, it supports many exploratory projects. A few of the ideas presented at this week’s conference could go on to the next level, or could get picked up by other agencies or private companies, as in the case of an earlier proposal to propel a smartphone-sized spacecraft to another stellar system with lasers, which inspired Breakthrough Starshot, a privately funded enterprise. Among a few of the topics on the menu for the rest of Wednesday and Thursday: multiple presentations about moon-based radio telescopes , as well as one about personal rovers for astronauts (since Artemis astronauts will be carrying 220-pound packs) and one about planting mushrooms in space regolith to make a more Earth-like growing soil.

“All of the concepts that are awarded are pushing the edge of our understanding, and they really allow us to take science fiction and make it science fact,” Cooper says.

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13 Things Tourists Should Know Before Traveling to Space, According to Astronauts

We asked the pros for their best tips on handling a first trip to space.

For most of human spaceflight history, those lucky enough to reach the stars were professional astronauts hired and trained by government agencies around the world. But since the early 2000s, when seven intrepid travelers paid millions to spend a few days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), space tourism has begun to take off. We're now on the cusp of a new era of space exploration, with commercial companies like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin launching spacecraft capable of taking paying travelers beyond the Earth's surface.

We spoke with former NASA astronauts Leroy Chiao and Scott Parazynski to get their tips for first-time spaceflight participants. During his 15 years with NASA, Chiao participated in four missions — three aboard the space shuttle and one to the ISS, in which he served as commander. Parazynski worked at NASA for 17 years, flying five shuttle missions throughout his career. Read on to discover what they think aspiring space tourists need to know.

Your only job on the flight will be to kick back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

If you're taking a suborbital flight, which is what companies like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin have offered, your ride will be a quick up-and-down to reach space, rather than a full orbit of the Earth. The short journey is relatively easy compared to what professional astronauts experience. For starters, you won't need to worry about flying your spacecraft. That's all up to the spaceflight provider. "You won't have any responsibility other than to enjoy the experience — and not kick anyone else in the head," says Parazynski. "Their obligations on the flight are pretty straightforward."

As such, the training programs for suborbital space tourist experiences are relatively minimal, perhaps only a few days in length at most. "The downside of not having a lot of training is that you don't have the confidence that comes from lots of training," says Parazynski. "Contrast that with the training I had on the space shuttle, where we trained for hundreds and hundreds of hours for launching in space. If something were to go awry, we would know exactly what to do and our hearts wouldn't skip a beat."

So, other than learning to place your complete trust in your spaceflight provider, Parazynski recommends talking to people who have flown before in order to ease any nervousness. Chiao agrees: "The best advice I can give on launch — and it's easy to say, harder to do — is to try to relax and enjoy the whole process," he says. "Pay attention during your training, talk to other people who've been there if you can. And actually, you might be surprised — it's quite calm!"

Make sure you’re physically and mentally fit.

"I think people should treat this as their Olympics or Super Bowl. This is a really big life experience, and though you don't need to be an Olympic athlete or a Super Bowl champion to fly in space, it helps to be fit," says Parazynski. After all, your body will be experiencing quite a range of new sensations during your spaceflight."

But it's not just about physical fitness — mental fitness is key, too. "I think through fitness comes mental acuity as well," says Parazynski. "The more you can be engaged in the experience, the more you'll remember of it — it'll be more impactful to you."

The G-forces experienced on launch and reentry are not as intense as you might expect.

If you've ever watched a livestream of an astronaut launch, caught any Hollywood flick about space travel, or ridden Mission: Space at Walt Disney World's Epcot theme park, you know that during launch, astronauts get crushed back into their seats. (And, actually, during reentry, too!) They're experiencing strong G-forces, or a sensation of weight felt during acceleration. It's the same feeling you get when you speed up quickly in a car or zoom through a loop or a sharp curve on a roller coaster, but during a rocket launch, those forces are stronger and more sustained. While the experience might seem a little terrifying, the pros say it's quite manageable.

"The G-forces aren't nearly as bad as they show in the movies," says Chiao. "If you're good enough to be given medical approval to go on a trip like this, you're not going to have any problems handling the G-forces." He also notes that you'll likely go through centrifugal runs during your training to prep for the sensation — you'll be strapped into a spinning machine that lets you experience strong G-forces, just like that spinning amusement park ride where you're pressed against the wall and the floor drops.

But to make launch and reentry as comfortable on your body as possible, you'll want to physically relax your muscles so you don't fight against the G-forces. "If you relax and let your body sink into the launch couch, you're going to tolerate it much better," says Chiao. "If you're rigid, that's where you might hurt yourself. And make sure your limbs and arms are inside of the couch."

To prep for weightlessness, you should book a zero-gravity flight.

While it takes quite a bit of effort (and time and money) to get into space to experience weightlessness, you can actually experience the sensation right here on Earth — or rather, just slightly above it. All you need to do is book a zero-gravity flight , where a plane flies in a series of parabolas (or arch-like shapes) during which passengers experience simulated weightlessness through free fall.

It's physically the same as skydiving or even riding a roller coaster, but in those two instances, your senses tell you you're actually falling. "When you're in a zero-G airplane, the airplane is falling at the same rate you are, so you're floating inside the airplane," says Chiao. "That's what it's like in a spacecraft when you get up into space and the engines cut off."

Through commercial companies like the Zero Gravity Corporation , anyone who can spare the cost of a ticket can experience weightlessness — and anyone who's planning on making a trip to space should definitely give it a go. "If they have the means, they should get on a zero-G flight before they go on a suborbital flight," says Parazynski. "It would take some of the mystery out of 'what am I going to feel like?' and 'how do I move?'"

Learning how to scuba dive is good weightlessness training, too.

While being underwater isn't exactly like floating in space, it's a pretty good way to practice moving around in a weightless environment. In fact, NASA even has a life-sized replica of the ISS set inside a giant pool, so astronauts can train for spacewalks underwater.

"Moving in weightlessness comes to you very quickly when you spend some time underwater," says Parazynski. "Get neutrally buoyant underwater and very gently try and move yourself along the ocean floor or bottom of your pool. It doesn't take a lot of force, but it does take a lot of thought."

Come up with a game plan for your few minutes in space.

On suborbital flights, you're only going to have a few minutes in weightlessness, so you should plan exactly how you want to spend your time up there. Figure out if you'd like to bring a memento like a family photo or college pennant for a fun picture. (U.S. Naval Academy graduates and former astronauts Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford famously put a "Beat Army" sign in the window of their Gemini VI spacecraft, so there's a long tradition of this.) Decide in advance if you want to attempt what spaceflight veterans call "stupid astronaut tricks," like flips or spins. But most importantly, budget time to look out the window.

"The most important thing I would tell future astronauts is to savor the view out the window," says Parazynski. "It's, for lack of a better term, a God's-eye view, and so few people have ever had a chance to see it. It's really a beautiful thing to be hovering in space and looking down at your planet."

Don’t worry about taking your own photos.

"As far as taking photographs, I don't know that I would recommend it," says Chiao. "You're not going to be very good at it, first of all, because it takes a little bit of practice to get used to zero-G. Don't waste that time taking photos. Get your memories, look out those windows, and enjoy the whole experience of being weightless." Plus, given the price tag of these spaceflights, we're pretty sure that your operator will provide you with photos and videos of your journey anyway.

When you get into zero gravity, you might feel a little dizzy.

The body functions a bit differently when you remove gravity from the equation for a sustained period of time, and side effects may include dizziness and nausea. "You're going to feel full-headed because there's no longer gravity pulling fluid down into your legs," says Chiao. "And so all that fluid comes up into your torso, and you can feel it right away. It feels kind of like you're standing on your head."

But the good news is, on suborbital flights you might be able to avoid the worst of it. "The adrenaline and excitement are going to make you do OK at first, and by the time you might start feeling bad, it's time to strap back in and come back down," says Chiao.

If you’re spending a few days in space, be prepared for some bumps and bruises.

On a suborbital flight, you won't have a ton of time in space, so you won't really have to worry about acclimating to zero gravity. However, some private spaceflight companies are looking to send their clients up into orbit for longer stays and there are even talks of a space hotel within Voyager Station . If you're going to spend a few days or even a few weeks up in space, you're probably going to bump your head more than once, no matter how much you've trained for the experience.

"It's really funny watching rookie astronauts the first day or two up on a mission," says Parazynski. "We called them the bull in a china shop. They push off with full force and they crack their skull or bang their knee."

You’re also going to make a mess.

Doing routine tasks like brushing your teeth (you can't just spit your toothpaste into a sink), clipping your fingernails (you don't want them floating off into your space station), and going to the bathroom (have you ever thought about how to use a toilet without gravity?) are all very different experiences in weightlessness. Inevitably, you might have a few mishaps early on in your trip.

"Just sitting down for a meal, you put your fork down, and it's gone in 30 seconds," says Parazynski. "You may find it two days later in the cabin air cleaner because that's where the air currents have taken it." Luckily, a lost fork is an easy mess to clean up — and the situation can be prevented by tethering it down. Other messes are a different story.

"As far as using the restroom, that's what you need to pay attention to during your training. The toilet is not particularly simple and you have to be careful," says Chiao. (In case you were wondering, space toilets use airflow to guide things where they're supposed to go.) "But be prepared to make some messes," says Chiao. "And everybody has to clean up their own mess."

If you’re going to do a spacewalk, the stakes are much higher for you and your crew.

If you want to zip around space with a jetpack like George Clooney in "Gravity," sorry, but chances are that's not going to happen any time soon. Most private astronauts will be safely tucked inside their craft for the duration of their flight.

Unlike suborbital flights, future orbital flights with a spacewalk will require extensive training, given that spacewalks are inherently more dangerous than simply riding in a vessel. "If you're careless with your tethers and you float off into the void, there's not a whole lot anyone can come do for you," says Parazynski. It's possible that a crewmate may be able to head out to rescue you, but then you're endangering their life as well. "It's paramount for a spacewalker to think not just about their own health and well-being and their experience, but also that of their crewmates," he says.

If you’re in a capsule, be prepared for a bumpy landing.

While the only way up to space is by rocket, there are two ways to come back down: via a winged vehicle, like the space shuttle or Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, or a capsule, like Apollo, Soyuz, and Blue Origin's New Shepard. The experiences are quite different, as winged vehicles land like an airplane on a runway, whereas capsules descend beneath parachutes onto land or water. While both experience a range of G-forces during reentry, capsules have a bit of a rougher ride, particularly at the very end.

"When the parachute comes out, you can expect to get jostled around a fair amount, so that can be disorienting," says Chiao. "Then, whether you're hitting the water or the ground, you're gonna get a good bump. There are shock-absorbing mechanisms, of course, that make it not too big a deal. But on Soyuz, you smack the ground pretty darn hard. It was kind of surprising!"

It’ll be worth every penny.

Sure, it's going to cost a small fortune to go into space as a tourist — for now, that's somewhere in the ballpark of several hundred thousand dollars for a suborbital flight and millions of dollars for longer-duration orbital stays. But ask any astronaut, and they're sure to tell you it'll be worth the investment.

"What I would tell prospective astronauts is that it's going to change their lives forever," says Parazynski. "It's a perspective that can't be captured in emotion on film. Even in 3D IMAX, there's no way to capture the way it's going to make you feel, the connectedness you feel to planet Earth, and the awe you have when you look out into the universe."

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Below are top recommendations on how to make the most out of a trip to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. These are only suggestions based on the interests below, and the attractions are not listed in a particular order.

Start Here:

Heroes & Legends featuring the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame ® presented by Boeing ® - 1 hour
Rocket Garden – 15 minutes
Apollo/Saturn V Center via the Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour - 2 hours
Space Shuttle Atlantis ® with Shuttle Launch Experience ® -2 hours
Astronaut Encounter - 1 hour
IMAX ® Space Film - 1 hour
Journey to Mars: Explorers Wanted – 30 minutes
Dining and shopping – 1 hour

DOWNLOAD ITINERARY Additional recommendations:

For space enthusiasts: Mission Status Briefing - 30 minutes For young families: Planet Play - 30 minutes An add-on enhancement for everyone: Chat With An Astronaut (in addition to daily admission) - 1 hour

Insider Tips:

Purchase timed daily admission tickets in advance online to limit the time spent in any entry lines.
Download the Kennedy Space Center Official Guide app to have quick access to the park map, FAQs, and detailed information on attractions, dining and shopping. Download at the Apple Store and Google Play .

One Day Visits

one day visit: family with children under 10 years of age.

Space Shuttle Atlantis® 1 hour
Rocket Garden 20 minutes
Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour including Apollo/Saturn V Center 2 hours
Journey to Mars: Launched by United Launch Alliance 30 minutes
Planet Play 30 minutes
Dining and Shopping 1 hour

One Day Visit: Family with Children Over 10 Years of Age

Heroes & Legends featuring the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® presented by Boeing® 30 minutes
Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex® featuring Spaceport KSC (minimum height 39 inches) 1 hour
Space Shuttle Atlantis® with the Shuttle Launch Experience® (minimum height 44 inches) 90 minutes
Chat With An Astronaut Add-on Enhancement 1 hour

One Day Visit: Adult Couple or Group

Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex® featuring Spaceport KSC 75 minutes
Space Shuttle Atlantis® with the Shuttle Launch Experience® 1 hour
Heroes & Legends featuring the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® presented by Boeing® 45 minutes
Journey to Mars: Launched by United Launch Alliance 15 minutes
Rocket Garden Guided Tour 20 minutes

One Day Visit: Space Enthusiast

Space Shuttle Atlantis® with the Shuttle Launch Experience® 75 minutes
Heroes & Legends featuring the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® presented by Boeing® 1 hour
Chat With An Astronaut Add-on Enhancement 40 minutes

Two Day Visits

two day visit: family with children under 10 years of age.

Space Shuttle Atlantis® with the Shuttle Launch Experience (minimum height 44 inches) 2 hours
Rocket Garden 15 minutes
Astronaut of the Day autograph session 15 minutes
3D Space Film 1 hour
Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex® featuring Spaceport KSC (minimum height 39 inches) 60 minutes
Character Appearance 15 minutes

Two Day Visit: Family with Children Over 10 Years of Age

Space Shuttle Atlantis® with Shuttle Launch Experience 2 hours
Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex® featuring Spaceport KSC (minimum height 39 inches) 75 minutes
Chat with an Astronaut Add-on Enhancement 1 hour
Astronaut of the Day Autograph Session 15 minutes
IMAX Film 1 hour

Two Day Visit: Adult Couple or Group

Space Shuttle Atlantis® with the Shuttle Launch Experience® 90 minutes
Mission Status Briefing 30 minutes
Astronaut Encounter 40 minutes
Astronaut Training Experience® Training Stage Add-on Enhancement 30 minutes

Two Day Visit: Space Enthusiast

Space Shuttle Atlantis® with the Shuttle Launch Experience® 2 hours
Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex® featuring Spaceport KSC 90 minutes
Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour including Apollo/Saturn V Center 2.5 hours
Heroes and Legends featuring the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® presented by Boeing® 1 hour
All Systems Are Go! 30 minutes

BONUS Day Three:

Astronaut Training Experience (ATX)® Add-on Enhancement 5 hours
NOTE: not included with daily admission nor is it required.

Family taking a selfie at the park entrance next to the NASA meatball

Explore All Attractions

NASA still deciding whether to keep 2 astronauts at space station until next year

C APE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA said Wednesday it's still deciding whether to keep two astronauts at the International Space Station until early next year and send their troubled Boeing capsule back empty.

Rather than flying Boeing’s Starliner back to Earth, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams would catch a ride on SpaceX’s next flight . That option would keep them at the space station until next February.

The test pilots anticipated being away just a week or so when they rocketed away as Starliner's first crew. But thruster failures and helium leaks marred the capsule’s trip to the space station, raising doubts about its ability to return safely and leaving the astronauts in limbo.

NASA officials said they're analyzing more data before making a decision by end of next week or beginning of the next. These thrusters are crucial for holding the capsule in the right position when it comes time to descend from orbit.

“We’ve got time available before we bring Starliner home and we want to use that time wisely,” said Ken Bowersox, NASA’s space operations mission chief.

NASA's safety chief Russ DeLoach added: “We don’t have enough insight and data to make some sort of simple, black-and-white calculation."

DeLoach said the space agency wants to make room for all opinions unlike what happened on NASA's two shuttle tragedies, Challenger and Columbia, when dissenting views were ignored.

“That may mean, at times, we don’t move very fast because we're getting everything out, and I think you can kind of see that at play here,” he said.

Switching to SpaceX would require bumping two of the four astronauts assigned to the next ferry flight, currently targeted for late September. Wilmore and Williams would take the empty seats in SpaceX’s Dragon capsule once that half-year mission ends.

Another complication: The space station has just two parking places for U.S. capsules. Boeing’s capsule would have to depart ahead of the arrival of SpaceX's Dragon in order to free up a spot.

Boeing maintains Starliner could still safely bring the astronauts home. The company earlier this month posted a list of testing done on thrusters in space and on the ground since liftoff.

NASA would like to keep SpaceX’s current crew up there until the replacements arrive, barring an emergency. Those four should have returned to Earth this month, but saw a seventh month added to their mission because of the uncertainty over Starliner, keeping them up there until the end of September. Most space station stays last six months, although some have gone a full year.

Wilmore and Williams are retired Navy captains who spent months aboard the space station years ago. They eased into space station work as soon as they arrived, helping with experiments and repairs.

“They will do what we ask them to do. That’s their job as astronauts,” said NASA chief astronaut Joe Acaba.

He added: “This mission is a test flight and as Butch and Suni expressed ahead of their launch, they knew this mission might not be perfect.”

Eager to have competing services and backup options, NASA hired SpaceX and Boeing to transport astronauts to and from the space station after the shuttles retired in 2011.

SpaceX’s first astronaut flight was in 2020. Boeing suffered so much trouble on its initial test flight without a crew in 2019 that a do-over was ordered. Then more problems cropped up, costing the company more than $1 billion to fix before finally flying astronauts.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

This photo provided by NASA shows Boeing's Starliner spacecraft which launched astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station docked to the Harmony module's forward port on July 3, 2024, seen from a window on the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the adjacent port. (NASA via AP)

NASA still deciding whether to keep 2 astronauts at space station until next year

NASA says it's still deciding whether to keep two astronauts at the International Space Station until early next year and send their troubled Boeing capsule back empty

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA said Wednesday it's still deciding whether to keep two astronauts at the International Space Station until early next year and send their troubled Boeing capsule back empty.