Last Chance: Sign Up by Jan 21 to Send Your Name Around the Moon on NASA’s Artemis II

If you’ve ever dreamed of touching the Moon, here’s your chance, at least symbolically. NASA is inviting people worldwide to submit their names for inclusion on the upcoming Artemis II mission, but the clock is ticking. The deadline to sign up is January 21, 2026, giving space enthusiasts just days to secure their place in history.

The mission, slated for launch no later than April 2026, will carry four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft. Alongside them, a memory card will hold thousands of names submitted by the public. Once registered, participants can download a digital “boarding pass” as a keepsake, proof that their name will orbit the Moon. NASA even encourages people to add names of friends, family, or pets.

The crew for Artemis II includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, joined by Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Together, they will be the first humans to fly aboard the powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule, testing critical systems for future Moon landings and eventual missions to Mars.

The flight path will take Orion more than 230,000 miles from Earth, looping around the far side of the Moon in a figure-eight trajectory. At its farthest point, the spacecraft will travel about 4,600 miles beyond the lunar surface before returning home. During the mission, astronauts will evaluate spacecraft performance and conduct experiments on space radiation, human health, and deep-space communication.

The adventure will conclude with a fiery re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere and a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, where recovery teams from NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense will ensure the crew and capsule return safely.

For the public, though, the most immediate mission is clear: sign up before January 21 to have your name fly around the Moon. 

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