NASA and National Geographic collaborate for documentary on Artemis II moon mission

Gearing up for the upcoming moon missions, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that it has partnered with National Geographic “to help tell the story of Artemis II”. In their official release, the agency informed that the collaboration was done following a competitive selection process under a non-reimbursable (no-exchange-of-funds) Space Act Agreement. The aforementioned mission will be the first Artemis flight that will carry astronauts around the moon and back to Earth aboard the agency’s Orion spacecraft. 

Talking about the partnership, associate administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate Kathy Lueders said,

"Returning humans to the moon with Artemis II will inspire the next generation of explorers. 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."

According to NASA, the space agreement will bring the entities together on a compact, lightweight audiovisual hardware to fly inside Orion and related support for the project. Besides, the release revealed, National Geographic was selected as it responded to NASA's proposals, sent out in November last year, to collaborate on unique public engagement, starting with Artemis II. With the success of this mission, humans will return to the moon after over 50 years and will also carry the first woman to the lunar surface. Meanwhile, the Artemis I will be uncrewed but the rocket will be boarded by a mannequin to gather flight data.

Artemis I with 'Moonikin' 

Earlier this month, NASA announced that it would send a manikin to the moon and bring it back before sending humans. Named Commander Moonikin Campos, the dummy will be strapped to the Orion spacecraft to gather crucial data to protect NASA astronauts during the flight. This data is deemed necessary as humans haven’t visited the moon since 1969. The agency had said that this unique passenger will be used to measure acceleration, vibration, and radiation data during the mission. Besides, the data from Moonikin’s experience will help NASA protect astronauts who will be sent to the moon in Artemis II, as per the agency.

Image: NASA