Artemis II Crew Members Reveal Name Of Orion Spacecraft For Moon Mission

The Artemis II crew has given their Orion spacecraft a name: Integrity. NASA says that the name reflects its core values, including trust, respect, candour and humility. These values define not just the crew, but also the thousands of people worldwide who worked tirelessly to make this mission a reality.

Artemis II is a 10-day flight in which a crew of four astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will fly around the moon and back. It is a precursor test to the agency's first astronaut Moon landing since 1972. The next phase, Artemis 3, is planned for 2027 and involves a Moon lander variant of SpaceX's Starship rocket.

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What does 'Integrity' represent?

The name was announced during the news conference on September 24 as the space agency acknowledged the massive collaboration involved in space exploration, such as over 300,000 spacecraft components, global teams driving the mission forward, and more.

The name 'Integrity' aligns with shared values of NASA, the astronaut office, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), highlighting the importance of trust and teamwork.

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Artemis II mission

Artemis II is a crewed flight test launching no later than April 2026, marking a pivotal step in NASA's Artemis campaign, aiming for a long-term presence at the Moon. However, NASA officials on Tuesday (September 23) said that the launch could potentially be moved up to February.

Artemis II involves NASA's Space Launch System rocket, built by Boeing and Northrop Grumman, and its Orion capsule, built by Lockheed Martin. The mission was delayed last year by several months until April 2026. "We intend to keep that commitment," Lakiesha Hawkins, an acting senior official in NASA's exploration unit, said during a news conference on Tuesday, the 2026 date.