The Bad Luck Myth: Why Did Artemis II Astronauts Play Game Of Cards Minutes Before Launch?
Minutes before walking out to the launch pad on April 1, 2026, the four Artemis II astronauts played game of cards. With this, the crew completed a ritual that has been part of NASA's pre-launch playbook for decades. Here is what the tradition is all about:
- Science News
- 2 min read
Minutes before walking out to the launch pad on April 1, 2026, the four Artemis II astronauts played game of cards. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen sat down in the suit-up room at Kennedy Space Center's Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building and completed a card game before leaving the crew quarters.
With the card game, the crew completed a ritual that has been part of NASA's pre-launch playbook for decades.
What Is The Tradition?
According to a long-held spaceflight tradition, NASA crews play cards before leaving the crew quarters ahead of a launch until the commander loses. It is hoped that by losing, the commander burns off all his or her bad luck, thereby clearing the mission for only good luck.
The game is played after everyone wear their suits for the mission.
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Former NASA Commander Pam Melroy had earlier explained the rule, saying the crew cannot walk out the door until the commander loses, and intentionally throwing the game is strictly against the spirit of the tradition. “That would violate the whole principle,” she had said.
When Did The Tradition Start?
The tradition dates back to the Space Shuttle era and has been followed religiously. During shuttle missions, a homegrown card game called "Possum Fargo" was played until the commander had the lowest hand, symbolically leaving the bad luck behind in the suit-up room.
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A video showed Artemis II astronauts have a light-hearted moment before the launch as they laughed and fist-bumped each other while playing cards. The game continued until commander, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, lost.
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Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft around the Moon to verify today’s capabilities for humans to explore deep space and pave the way for long-term exploration and science on the lunar surface.