Two days remain for ordinary people to place their names on a voyage that will carry no human passengers of theirs, only the hope that someone's name might travel once around the Moon. NASA, preparing its first crewed flight in more than half a century, is asking the world to lend its names to a mission meant to prove that human beings can again journey beyond low Earth orbit and return safely. The decision to invite strangers into the story reflects an old human wish to be present at the edge of discovery, even in symbolic form. Whether the flight arrives on schedule around April 2026 or not,
NASA Invites Public to Send Names Around the Moon on Artemis II, Registration Closes January 21
Two days remain for anyone who wants their name to fly around the Moon.
Mark
So what exactly is being sent? Not a person, not an object, just a name?
Mimi
Just names, stored on an SD card that gets loaded onto Orion before launch. Each participant gets a digital boarding pass in return.
Mark
Why does NASA bother with something like this?
Mimi
The agency says it wants to connect the public with its exploration work and spark interest in science and space. Lori Glaze framed the mission as both a technical milestone and a source of inspiration.
Luke
Worth noting that's NASA's own stated aim. The reporting doesn't offer any measure of whether it actually builds interest.
Mark
And the mission itself, what's actually at stake?
Mimi
It's the first crewed Artemis flight, about 10 days around the Moon, with Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen aboard. Artemis I in 2022 flew without anyone on board.
Luke
The April 2026 launch is described as planned, not fixed. The article doesn't say what could move it.
Mark
Is there anything we don't know about the campaign?
Luke
Quite a bit. The piece doesn't say how many names have been submitted, and it doesn't explain what the PIN is used for. Both are simply absent.
Mimi
What is clear is the deadline: January 21, 2026.
El Pulso
- Registration for the 'Send Your Name with Artemis II' campaign slams shut on January 21, 2026, leaving only days to submit.
- Each entrant's first and last name, paired with a 4-7 digit PIN, will be etched onto an SD card bound for the Orion spacecraft.
- The first crewed Artemis flight, carrying four astronauts around the Moon, is pressing toward its planned launch around April 2026.
- Engineers must prove Orion can safely carry humans after the uncrewed Artemis I test of 2022, a gate every future lunar and Mars plan depends on.
Two days remain for ordinary people to place their names on a voyage that will carry no human passengers of theirs, only the hope that someone's name might travel once around the Moon. NASA, preparing its first crewed flight in more than half a century, is asking the world to lend its names to a mission meant to prove that human beings can again journey beyond low Earth orbit and return safely. The decision to invite strangers into the story reflects an old human wish to be present at the edge of discovery, even in symbolic form. Whether the flight arrives on schedule around April 2026 or not, the gesture reminds us that exploration has always belonged, in some measure, to everyone who watches the sky.
Only two days remain for anyone hoping their name will fly around the Moon. NASA's "Send Your Name with Artemis II" campaign closes registration on January 21, 2026, and the agency has opened it to people anywhere in the world.
The process is simple. Participants submit a first and last name with a PIN of four to seven digits. The names are stored on an SD card that will be loaded onto the Orion spacecraft before launch, and each person can download a digital boarding pass as a keepsake of a journey they will watch rather than take.
The flight itself is a serious test. Artemis II, planned for around April 2026, will be the first crewed mission of the Artemis programme, lasting about 10 days as Orion circles the Moon and returns to Earth. Four astronauts are assigned: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch of NASA, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency. It will be the first time people fly aboard the Space Launch System and Orion together.
The mission follows the uncrewed Artemis I flight of 2022, and its purpose is to show how the spacecraft performs with people aboard, a step required before the agency's larger ambitions of lunar landings and eventually Mars can proceed. NASA hopes the names will help connect the public to that work and spark wider interest in science and space exploration. The next date to watch is January 21, and after that, the countdown to launch.
Two days remain for anyone who wants their name to fly around the Moon. NASA's "Send Your Name with Artemis II" campaign closes registration on January 21, 2026, and the agency has said it is open to people anywhere in the world.
The mechanics are modest. A participant submits a first and last name along with a PIN of four to seven digits. The names are stored on an SD card, which will be loaded onto the Orion spacecraft before launch. In return, each person can download a digital boarding pass carrying their name, a keepsake of a trip they will not themselves be making.
The trip itself is a significant one. Artemis II is the first crewed flight of NASA's Artemis programme and is planned for around April 2026. It is expected to last about 10 days, carrying Orion around the Moon and back to Earth. The purpose is to test the systems and hardware that future human exploration of deep space will depend on.
Four astronauts are assigned to the flight: NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency. It will be the first time people have flown aboard NASA's Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft together.
The mission follows Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight that flew around the Moon in 2022 and was judged a success. Artemis II is meant to show how the spacecraft performs with humans on board, a step that has to be cleared before anything more ambitious is attempted.
NASA officials describe the flight as a critical step toward a long-term human presence on the Moon. The mission is intended to confirm systems needed for future lunar landings, and it also supports the agency's longer-term goal of sending astronauts to Mars.
Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, said Artemis II is both a technical milestone and a chance to inspire people around the world. She added that the mission lets the public follow along as NASA pushes human exploration deeper into space.
The name campaign is part of that effort. NASA says that by putting people's names on the spacecraft, it hopes to connect the public with its exploration work and build wider interest in science, technology and space exploration through Artemis.
The immediate date to watch is January 21, when registration closes. After that, attention shifts to the launch, currently planned for around April 2026.
Citas Notables
Artemis II is both a technical milestone and an opportunity to inspire people worldwide (paraphrased).— Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator, NASA Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate
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