NASA Is Sending Something Unexpected To The Moon
After an issue with reducing engine temperature prior to its intended launch on August 29, 2022, the Artemis I uncrewed moon mission was rescheduled for Saturday, September 3. Then the rescheduled launch also had to be rescheduled (via NASA) due to a hydrogen leak. Now it's been pushed back to Monday, November 14 (via NASA), with the hope that things will all go smoothly this time.
While NASA's been re-ramping up for another attempt at getting its uncrewed space mission test flight off the ground, it also gave space enthusiasts — really, anyone who might be interested — another reason to pay attention. Because once Artemis I finally makes it into space, it'll be carrying some special cargo: You!
Okay, not really. The Artemis I mission isn't intended to carry human pilots into space — much less passengers. But you could send a small part of yourself off to the moon.
So what's the deal?
Rather than attempt to haul a bunch of people around the moon and back, NASA created a web page (via NASA) for anyone who might be interested in submitting their name to be added to a flash drive that the Orion spacecraft (part of the Artemis I mission) would carry with it. Participants were also given the option to download and print out their own "boarding pass" to commemorate the occasion.
Unfortunately for anyone who wasn't aware or who hasn't gotten around to submitting their name yet, NASA has finished collecting names for now. The window is officially closed, and the process of loading all of the names onto a flash drive to be loaded onto the Orion has begun. No moon for you, at least not this time. But we can always hope that NASA might attempt something similar with future space missions.
But even if yours is not one of the 3,391,122 names on its way to the moon, you can still save yourself a little piece of personalized NASA history. A blank boarding pass is available to download at the link above, and whether you're officially signed up or not there's still the option of creating a digital souvenir of your own.