An illustration of the Orion spacecraft. Throughout this decade, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before and establish a sustainable human presence under Artemis in preparation for future human missions to Mars. Credits: NASA

NASA has selected National Geographic to help tell the story of Artemis II, the first Artemis flight that will carry astronauts around the Moon and back to Earth aboard the agency’s Orion spacecraft.

Following a competitive selection process, NASA and National Geographic entered into a non-reimbursable (no-exchange-of-funds) Space Act Agreement to collaborate on compact, lightweight audiovisual hardware to fly inside Orion and related support for the project.

“Returning humans to the Moon with Artemis II will inspire the next generation of explorers,” said Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, who served as the selection official. “This time, we are bringing partners and technologies that will create additional opportunities for the world to share in the experience along with our astronauts.”

National Geographic plans to leverage its portfolio of media assets, including magazines, social and digital content, and television programming, for engagement opportunities. Those would include capabilities for creating an immersive experience aboard Orion to share the story of human exploration of the Moon.

In November 2020, NASA called for proposals to collaborate on unique public engagement, starting with Artemis II. National Geographic media company responded with a proposal to use content captured during the mission to create a multi-platform story-telling campaign aimed at a global audience.

Artemis mission activities will include Artemis I, an uncrewed flight test that will launch Orion on the NASA’s Space Launch System rocket to orbit the Moon and return to Earth. Artemis II will carry a crew aboard Orion, paving the way for future missions to send the first woman and first person of color to the surface of the Moon. Subsequent missions will explore more of the Moon and test the technologies and procedures needed for human exploration of Mars.

Learn more about NASA’s Artemis program at:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

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kathryn.hambleton@nasa.gov

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