Megan Borel of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center points to a location on a map of the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona during a discussion in the Science Evaluation Room (SER) during the JETT 5 field test. JETT 5 was a week-long field test in the lunar-like landscape of San Francisco Volcanic Field near Flagstaff, Arizona while a team of flight controllers and scientists at Johnson monitor and guide their activities. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2025e006033 (Feb. 3, 2025) --- From left to right: JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and NASA astronauts Jonny Kim (seated), Zena Cardman, and Mike Fincke conduct training scenarios with their instructors at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas for their upcoming mission to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2025e005962 (Feb. 3, 2025) --- From left to right: NASA astronauts Jonny Kim, Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui train together as an Expedition 73 crew at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas for their upcoming mission to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2025e073892_alt (Sept. 11, 2025) --- Official portrait of ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot wearing a spacesuit, also called an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas and David DeHoyos

jsc2025e034272 (March 28, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and pilot for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission Mike Fincke is photographed during an interview in a studio at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, before his upcoming mission to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2025e076269 (09/22/2025) --- NASA 2025 Astronaut Candidate (ASCAN) Announcement Ceremony Photo Date: 09/22/2025 Location: JSC B2 - Teague Auditorium Photo Credit: NASA - Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2025e076270 (09/22/2025) --- NASA announced its 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class on Sept. 22, 2025. Rebecca “Becky” Lawler was selected by NASA to join the 2025 astronaut candidate class. She reported for duty in September 2025. Photo Credit: NASA - Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2023e049674 (July 16, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-10 Pilot Nichole Ayers walks on the tarmac toward a T-38 aircraft trainer during pre-flight mission training at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.

jsc2025e044593 (May 1, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Anil Menon familiarizes himself with science hardware at Johnson Space Center's Space Vehicle Mockup Facility in Houston, Texas, ahead of his upcoming mission to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2026e011688 (March 5, 2026) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Anil Menon participates in a training session at Johnson Space Center's Space Vehicle Mockup Facility in Houston, Texas, ahead of his upcoming mission to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch uses a mockup camera as part of performing the Egress Fitness Task series inside the ARGOS test area at NASA’s Johnson Space Center on Dec. 12, 2025. (NASA/Helen Arase Vargas)

Artemis Curation Lead Julianne Gross, left, and Brett Denevi, Artemis III Geology Team principal investigator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, work in the Science Evaluation Room (SER) during the JETT 5 field test. JETT 5 was a week-long field test in the lunar-like landscape of San Francisco Volcanic Field near Flagstaff, Arizona while a team of flight controllers and scientists at Johnson monitor and guide their activities. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2025e076273 (09/22/2025) --- NASA announced its 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class on Sept. 22, 2025. Erin Overcash was selected by NASA to join the 2025 astronaut candidate class. She reported for duty in September 2025.

jsc2025e038710 (May 15, 2025) --- NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 crew trains for their International Space Station mission inside a mockup at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

A team of engineers lifts the mast into place atop of NASA’s VIPER robotic Moon rover in a clean room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

Artemis III Geology Team member, Jose Hurtado from the University of Texas at El Paso, left, and Maria Banks of NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center work in the Science Evaluation Room (SER) during the JETT 5 field test. JETT 5 was a week-long field test in the lunar-like landscape of San Francisco Volcanic Field near Flagstaff, Arizona while a team of flight controllers and scientists at Johnson monitor and guide their activities. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch kneels to complete simulated scientific sample of a surface rock as part of the Egress Fitness Tasks during the Artemis Spaceflight Standard Measures Test at NASA’s Johnson Space Center on Dec. 12, 2025. (NASA/Helen Arase Vargas)

Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch prepares to begin the Egress Fitness Tasks during the Artemis Spaceflight Standard Measures Test at NASA’s Johnson Space Center on Dec. 12, 2025. (NASA/Helen Arase Vargas)

jsc2025e057255 --- NASA’s Artemis III lunar science team is pictured in the Science Evaluation Room (SER) at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Located in the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center, the SER supports the mission’s main flight control room for lunar science and planetary observations. Built specifically for Artemis missions with these science priorities in mind, the SER is equipped to support rapid data interpretation, collaborative analysis, real-time decision making, and seamless coordination between the science and operations teams.

jsc2025e076268 (09/22/2025) --- NASA announced its 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class on Sept. 22, 2025. Adam Fuhrmann was selected by NASA to join the 2025 astronaut candidate class. He reported for duty in September 2025. Photo Credit: NASA - Helen Arase Vargas

Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch climbs down the ladder of a mockup lander while wearing the xEMU spacesuit during the Artemis Spaceflight Standard Measures Test at NASA’s Johnson Space Center on Dec. 12, 2025. (NASA/Helen Arase Vargas)

jsc2025e076267 (09/22/2025) --- NASA announced its 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class on Sept. 22, 2025. Lauren Edgar was selected by NASA to join the 2025 astronaut candidate class. She reported for duty in September 2025. Photo Credit: NASA - Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2025e032671 (March 18, 2025) --- NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore receives a warm welcome at Johnson Space Center's Ellington Field in Houston after completing a long-duration science mission aboard the International Space Station. After undocking from the orbiting laboratory, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 splashed down at 5:57 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 18, in the Gulf of America near Tallahassee, Florida. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

Ben Feist, software engineer on the Extravehicular Activity Mission System Software (EMSS) team, uses the suite of software he and other members of the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) division at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston developed to plan and monitor spacewalks. The JETT 5 field test was the first time this software was fully integrated into a simulated mission, supporting both science and mission control operations. JETT 5 was a week-long field test conducted in the lunar-like landscape of the San Francisco Volcanic Field near Flagstaff, Arizona, with a team of flight controllers and scientists at Johnson monitoring and guiding the activities. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2025e073950 - French European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot in the NASA Johnson Space Center photo studio on September 4, 2025. Photographer: Helen Arase Vargas and David DeHoyos – Johnson Space Center

jsc2025e064263 - VIPER Vehicle Manager Justin Ridley connects a cable to the VIPER high gain antenna while preparing the rover for long-term storage testing in the high bay of Building 9S at Johnson Space Center. Photographer: Helen Arase Vargas – Johnson Space Center

The actigraphy device that select Artemis II astronauts will wear on their wrists during their mission around the Moon. The device will measure the crew members’ motion, sleep patterns, and exposure to light as part of the ARCHeR (Artemis Research for Crew Health and Readiness) study. What we learn will help us understand how astronauts can ultimately survive and thrive on longer duration missions farther from Earth. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

Marie Henderson, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, foreground, and Ariel Deutsch, from NASA Ames, follow the geology traverses during the JETT 5 field test. JETT 5 was a week-long field test in the lunar-like landscape of San Francisco Volcanic Field near Flagstaff, Arizona while a team of flight controllers and scientists at Johnson monitor and guide their activities. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2023e049694 (July 16, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-10 Pilot Nichole Ayers is seated in a T-38 aircraft trainer during pre-flight mission training at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.

jsc2025e076274 (09/22/2025) --- NASA announced its 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class on Sept. 22, 2025. Katherine Spies was selected by NASA to join the 2025 astronaut candidate class. She reported for duty in September 2025. Photo Credit: NASA - Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2025e076266 (09/22/2025) --- NASA 2025 Astronaut Candidate (ASCAN) Announcement Ceremony Photo Date: 09/22/2025 Location: JSC B2 - Teague Auditorium Photo Credit: NASA - Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2025e057254 --- NASA’s Artemis II lunar science team is pictured in the Science Evaluation Room (SER) at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Located in the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center, the SER supports the mission’s main flight control room for lunar science and planetary observations. Built specifically for Artemis missions with these science priorities in mind, the SER is equipped to support rapid data interpretation, collaborative analysis, real-time decision making, and seamless coordination between the science and operations teams.

jsc2025e076272 (09/22/2025) --- NASA announced its 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class on Sept. 22, 2025. Imelda Muller was selected by NASA to join the 2025 astronaut candidate class. She reported for duty in September 2025.

jsc2025e006003 (Feb. 3, 2025) --- NASA astronaut Zena Cardman (left), and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui (right) conduct training scenarios with their instructors at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas for their upcoming mission to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2025e076271 (09/22/2025) --- NASA announced its 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class on Sept. 22, 2025. Anna Menon was selected by NASA to join the 2025 astronaut candidate class. She reported for duty in September 2025. Photo Credit: NASA - Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2026e020046 (April 2, 2026) – CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut and backup Artemis II crew member Jenni Gibbons serves as capsule communicator (capcom) during the mission’s translunar injection burn, which sent the crew in Orion out of Earth orbit and on a trajectory toward the Moon.

jsc2026e019614 (April 2, 2026) – NASA astronaut Chris Birch serves as capsule communicator (capcom) in the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center during the mission’s translunar injection burn, which sent the crew in Orion out of Earth orbit and on a trajectory toward the Moon.

jsc2026e020085 (April 2, 2026) – NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (left) and NASA Chief Flight Director Emily Nelson (right) in the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center monitor mission operations during the translunar injection (TLI) burn, which sent the crew in Orion out of Earth orbit and on a trajectory toward the Moon.

Artemis lunar science team member, Alexandra Constantinou, works in the Science Mission Operations Room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where scientists analyzed imagery and audio recordings of lunar observations captured by the Artemis II astronauts during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026. Credits: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

Artemis lunar science team member, Aaron Regberg, works in the Science Mission Operations Room, where scientists analyzed imagery and audio recordings of lunar observations captured by the Artemis II astronauts during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026.

Artemis lunar science team members, work in the Science Mission Operations Room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, analyzing imagery and audio recordings of lunar observations captured by the Artemis II astronauts during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026.

jsc2026e022311 (April 11, 2026) - NASA’s Artemis II crew, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, shared brief remarks with friends, family, and colleagues after they landed at Ellington Airport near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday, April 11, 2026, after a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2026e022312 (April 11, 2026) - NASA’s Artemis II crew, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, shared brief remarks with friends, family, and colleagues after they landed at Ellington Airport near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday, April 11, 2026, after a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

Artemis lunar science team members, from left, Alexandra Constantinou, and David Hollibaugh-Baker, work in the Science Mission Operations Room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. They are analyzing imagery and audio recordings of lunar observations captured by the Artemis II astronauts during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026.

jsc2026e022297 (April 11, 2026) - NASA’s Artemis II crew, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, shared brief remarks with friends, family, and colleagues after they landed at Ellington Airport near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday, April 11, 2026, after a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2026e022310 (April 11, 2026) - NASA’s Artemis II crew, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, shared brief remarks with friends, family, and colleagues after they landed at Ellington Airport near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday, April 11, 2026, after a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2026e022317 (April 11, 2026) - NASA’s Artemis II crew commander Reid Wiseman shared brief remarks with friends, family, and colleagues after they landed at Ellington Airport near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday, April 11, 2026, after a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

jsc2026e019618 (April 2, 2026) – The Artemis II flight control team pictured at the White Flight Control Room in the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center monitors mission operations during the translunar injection (TLI) burn, which sent the crew in Orion out of Earth orbit and on a trajectory toward the Moon. After the mission management team polled “Go” for the operation, NASA’s Orion spacecraft fired its main engine for five minutes and 50 seconds beginning at 7:49 p.m. ET, to successfully complete the TLI burn.

jsc2026e020048 (April 2, 2026) – Flight Dynamics Officer Natasha Peake in Mission Control during Artemis II’s translunar injection burn on April 2, 2026, which not only sent the crew in Orion out of Earth orbit and on a trajectory toward the Moon, but also set them on the course that will ultimately bring them home for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.