Astronaut Candidate Individual Portrait, Anil Menon - ASCAN Class of 2021. Photo Date: December 3, 2021. Location: Building 8, Room 183 - Photo Studio. Photographer: Robert Markowitz

jsc2024e015918 (February 21, 2024) --- NASA astronaut Anil Menon poses for a portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Credit: NASA/ Josh Valcarcel

jsc2024e013690_alt (February 8, 2024) --- NASA astronaut Anil Menon poses for a portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Credit: NASA/ Josh Valcarcel

jsc2024e015919 (February 21, 2024) --- NASA astronaut Anil Menon poses for a portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Credit: NASA/ Josh Valcarcel

Expedition 74 backup crew member Anil Menon of NASA is seen in quarantine, behind glass, during a press conference, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Expedition 74 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Chris Williams, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on November 27. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 74 backup crewmembers: Anil Menon of NASA, background, Roscosmos cosmonauts Petr Dubrov, and Anna Kikina, foreground, are seen behind glass as the prime crew has their Russian Sokol suits pressure checked for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA astronaut Chris Williams, left, poses for a photograph with Expedition 74 backup crew member Anil Menon of NASA, as he waits to have his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked for his launch on the Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station with fellow crewmembers, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 74 backup crew members: Anna Kikina of Roscosmos, left, and Anil Menon of NASA, are seen as the Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, at Site 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 74 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Chris Williams, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on November 27. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 74 backup crew members Anil Menon of NASA, left, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Petr Dubrov, and Anna Kikina are seen in quarantine, behind glass, during a press conference, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Expedition 74 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Chris Williams, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on November 27. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 74 backup crew members Anil Menon of NASA, left, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Petr Dubrov, and Anna Kikina, right, are seen in quarantine, behind glass, during a press conference, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Expedition 74 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Chris Williams, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on November 27. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 74 backup crew members: Anil Menon of NASA, left, Petr Dubrov, and Anna Kikina of Roscosmos, right, pose for a photograph as the Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, at Site 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 74 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Chris Williams, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on November 27. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 74 backup crew members: Anna Kikina of Roscosmos, left, Petr Dubrov of Roscosmos, and Anil Menon of NASA, right, watch as the Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, at Site 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 74 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Chris Williams, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on November 27. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 74 backup crew members: Anil Menon of NASA, Petr Dubrov and Anna Kikina of Roscosmos, watch as the Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, at Site 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 74 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Chris Williams, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on November 27. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 74 backup crew members: Anil Menon of NASA, left, Petr Dubrov, and Anna Kikina of Roscosmos, right, pose for a photograph as the Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, at Site 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 74 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Chris Williams, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on November 27. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 74 price crew members: NASA astronaut Chris Williams, left, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev, along with Expedition 74 backup crew members Anil Menon of NASA, Roscosmos cosmonauts Petr Dubrov, and Anna Kikinam, right, are seen in quarantine, behind glass, as they finish a press conference, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Expedition 74 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Chris Williams, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on November 27. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 74 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Chris Williams, left, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, along with Expedition 74 backup crew members: Anil Menon of NASA, Petr Dubrov of Roscosmos, and Anna Kikina of Roscosmos, right, are seen during the State Commission meeting to approve the Soyuz launch of Expedition 74 to the International Space Station, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Williams, Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on November 27. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA astronaut Chris Williams, left, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev, along with Expedition 74 backup crew members Anil Menon of NASA, Roscosmos cosmonauts Petr Dubrov, and Anna Kikinam, right, are seen in quarantine, behind glass, as they arrive at a press conference, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Expedition 74 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Chris Williams, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on November 27. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA astronaut Chris Williams has his photo made with Expedition 74 backup crew member Anna Kikina of Roscosmos, by Expedition 74 backup crew member Anil Menon of NASA, as he waits to have his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked ahead of his launch on the Soyuz Rocket to the International Space Station with fellow crewmembers, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

From left to right, NASA astronaut candidates Anil Menon, Deniz Burnham, and Marcos Berrios, and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman pose for a photograph in front of NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 2, 2022. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

Photo Date: 2021-12-06 Subject: NASA announced its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021. The 10 candidates, pictured here in an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are Nichole Ayers, Christopher Williams, Luke Delaney, Jessica Wittner, Anil Menon, Marcos Berríos, Jack Hathaway, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas. NASA’s new astronaut candidates will begin about two years of training in January 2022, after which they could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on Artemis missions to the Moon on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Location: Ellington Hangar 135 Photographer: James Blair

Photo Date: 2021-12-06 Subject: NASA announced its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021. The 10 candidates, pictured here in an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are Nichole Ayers, Christopher Williams, Luke Delaney, Jessica Wittner, Anil Menon, Marcos Berríos, Jack Hathaway, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas. NASA’s new astronaut candidates will begin about two years of training in January 2022, after which they could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on Artemis missions to the Moon on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Location: Ellington Hangar 135 Photographer: Robert Markowitz

From left to right, NASA astronaut candidates Anil Menon, Deniz Burnham, and Marcos Berrios pose for a photograph in front of NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 2, 2022. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

Photo Date: 2021-12-06 NASA announced its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021. The 10 candidates, pictured here in an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are Nichole Ayers, Christopher Williams, Luke Delaney, Jessica Wittner, Anil Menon, Marcos Berríos, Jack Hathaway, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas. NASA’s new astronaut candidates will begin about two years of training in January 2022, after which they could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on Artemis missions to the Moon on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Location: Ellington Hangar 135 Photographer: James Blair

Photo Date: 2021-12-06 NASA announced its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021. The 10 candidates, pictured here in an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are Nichole Ayers, Christopher Williams, Luke Delaney, Jessica Wittner, Anil Menon, Marcos Berríos, Jack Hathaway, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas. NASA’s new astronaut candidates will begin about two years of training in January 2022, after which they could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on Artemis missions to the Moon on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Location: Ellington Hangar 135 Photographer: James Blair

Photo Date: 2021-12-06 Subject: NASA announced its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021. The 10 candidates, pictured here in an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are Nichole Ayers, Christopher Williams, Luke Delaney, Jessica Wittner, Anil Menon, Marcos Berríos, Jack Hathaway, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas. NASA’s new astronaut candidates will begin about two years of training in January 2022, after which they could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on Artemis missions to the Moon on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Location: Ellington Hangar 135 Photographer: James Blair

Photo Date: 2021-12-06 Subject: NASA announced its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021. The 10 candidates, pictured here in an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are Nichole Ayers, Christopher Williams, Luke Delaney, Jessica Wittner, Anil Menon, Marcos Berríos, Jack Hathaway, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas. NASA’s new astronaut candidates will begin about two years of training in January 2022, after which they could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on Artemis missions to the Moon on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Location: Ellington Hangar 135 Photographer: James Blair

Photo Date: 12/06/2021 Subject: NASA announced its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021. The 10 candidates, pictured here with Johnson Center Director Vanessa Wyche in an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are Nichole Ayers, Christopher Williams, Luke Delaney, Jessica Wittner, Anil Menon, Marcos Berríos, Jack Hathaway, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas. NASA’s new astronaut candidates will begin about two years of training in January 2022, after which they could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on Artemis missions to the Moon on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Photographers: James Blair

Photo Date: 2021-12-06 Subject: NASA announced its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021. The 10 candidates, pictured here in an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are Nichole Ayers, Christopher Williams, Luke Delaney, Jessica Wittner, Anil Menon, Marcos Berríos, Jack Hathaway, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas. NASA’s new astronaut candidates will begin about two years of training in January 2022, after which they could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on Artemis missions to the Moon on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Location: Ellington Hangar 135 Photographer: James Blair

Photo Date: 2021-12-06 Subject: NASA announced its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021. The 10 candidates, pictured here in an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are Nichole Ayers, Christopher Williams, Luke Delaney, Jessica Wittner, Anil Menon, Marcos Berríos, Jack Hathaway, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas. NASA’s new astronaut candidates will begin about two years of training in January 2022, after which they could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on Artemis missions to the Moon on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Location: Ellington Hangar 135 Photographer: James Blair

Photo Date: 2021-12-06 Subject: NASA announced its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021. The 10 candidates, pictured here in an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are Nichole Ayers, Christopher Williams, Luke Delaney, Jessica Wittner, Anil Menon, Marcos Berríos, Jack Hathaway, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas. NASA’s new astronaut candidates will begin about two years of training in January 2022, after which they could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on Artemis missions to the Moon on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Location: Ellington Hangar 135 Photographer: James Blair

Photo Date: 2021-12-06 Subject: NASA announced its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021. The 10 candidates, pictured here in an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are Nichole Ayers, Christopher Williams, Luke Delaney, Jessica Wittner, Anil Menon, Marcos Berríos, Jack Hathaway, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas. NASA’s new astronaut candidates will begin about two years of training in January 2022, after which they could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on Artemis missions to the Moon on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Location: Ellington Hangar 135 Photographer: James Blair

Photo Date: 2021-12-06 NASA announced its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021. The 10 candidates, pictured here in an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are Nichole Ayers, Christopher Williams, Luke Delaney, Jessica Wittner, Anil Menon, Marcos Berríos, Jack Hathaway, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas. NASA’s new astronaut candidates will begin about two years of training in January 2022, after which they could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on Artemis missions to the Moon on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Location: Ellington Hangar 135 Photographer: Robert Markowitz

Photo Date: 2021-12-06 Subject: NASA announced its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021. The 10 candidates, pictured here in an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are Nichole Ayers, Christopher Williams, Luke Delaney, Jessica Wittner, Anil Menon, Marcos Berríos, Jack Hathaway, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas. NASA’s new astronaut candidates will begin about two years of training in January 2022, after which they could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on Artemis missions to the Moon on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Location: Ellington Hangar 135 Photographer: James Blair

Photo Date: 2021-12-06 Subject: NASA announced its 2021 astronaut candidate class on Dec. 6, 2021. The 10 candidates, pictured here in an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are Nichole Ayers, Christopher Williams, Luke Delaney, Jessica Wittner, Anil Menon, Marcos Berríos, Jack Hathaway, Christina Birch, Deniz Burnham, and Andre Douglas. NASA’s new astronaut candidates will begin about two years of training in January 2022, after which they could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on Artemis missions to the Moon on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Location: Ellington Hangar 135 Photographer: Robert Markowitz

NASA astronaut candidate Anil Menon poses for a photograph in front of NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 2, 2022. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

NASA astronauts and astronaut candidates view NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 2, 2022. The astronauts are, from left to right: Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut; Deniz Burnham and Anil Menon, NASA astronaut candidates; Anne McClain, NASA astronaut; Marcos Berrios, NASA astronaut candidate; and Victor Glover, NASA astronaut. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

NASA astronauts and astronaut candidates view NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 2, 2022. The astronauts are, from left to right: Zena Cardman (partially obscured), NASA astronaut; Deniz Burnham and Anil Menon, NASA astronaut candidates; Anne McClain, NASA astronaut; Marcos Berrios, NASA astronaut candidate; and Victor Glover, NASA astronaut. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

NASA astronauts and astronaut candidates view NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 2, 2022. The astronauts are, from left to right: Victor Glover, NASA astronaut; Marcos Berrios, NASA astronaut candidate; Anne McClain, NASA astronaut; Anil Menon and Deniz Burnham, NASA astronaut candidates; and Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

NASA astronauts and astronaut candidates pose for a photograph in front of NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 2, 2022. The astronauts are, from left to right: Victor Glover, NASA astronaut; Marcos Berrios, NASA astronaut candidate; Anne McClain, NASA astronaut; Anil Menon and Deniz Burnham, NASA astronaut candidates; and Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.