Georgia Tech alumni, including some with NASA leadership roles in this week’s launch, reflect on the first crewed launch to the moon in more than 50 years.
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If all goes according to plan, humans will head toward the moon this week for the first time since 1972.
NASA’s Artemis II is set to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Wednesday, April 1, at 6:24 p.m. NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Reid Wiseman, as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will slingshot around the moon in an Orion spacecraft. The 10-day mission will end with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
It’s the first crewed mission to the moon since two Apollo 17 astronauts walked on the lunar surface.
A successful Artemis II mission would lead to Artemis III, which would launch Orion to low Earth orbit to test rendezvous and docking capabilities with lunar landers. Artemis IV would put humans back on the moon.
The launch has captivated the Georgia Tech space community, both here on campus and within the alumni base. Several Georgia Tech graduates have key roles in the Artemis program.
On the eve of this next chapter of lunar exploration, several current and former Yellow Jackets discuss why Artemis II matters, what excites them about the mission, and what happens next.
The full moon is seen behind NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, standing atop a mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B. (Credit: NASA/John Kraus)
(Credit: NASA)
I wanted to do one thing growing up — work for NASA so I could launch big rockets that go to the Moon.
I lead the teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center who assemble and test the Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, launch the Artemis II crew from Launch Complex 39B, and recover the Artemis II crew and spacecraft following splashdown off the coast of San Diego.
I grew up in a small town in New York, and I wanted to do one thing growing up — work for NASA so I could launch big rockets that go to the moon. I applied and was accepted into the School of Electrical Engineering and am most thankful for the opportunities enabled by my education at Georgia Tech all those years ago.
Shawn Quinn, EE 1990
Manager, Exploration Ground Systems
NASA
The Earth is a marvelous planet, but its resources are not infinite.
I am responsible for leading the team that will execute the recovery of the Artemis II crew and the Orion spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean after their journey around the moon. Part of that team also includes the U.S. military, who we partner with to help safely recover our astronauts and spacecraft following splashdown, a partnership that goes back to the beginnings of NASA.
Through Artemis, we intend to prepare to stay on the moon and develop the technologies and operations needed to sustain life in deep space. The Earth is a marvelous planet, but its resources are not infinite. Exploration, as hard as it is, is imperative for our species. I dream of a future where humanity has reached the edges of our solar system, and I feel very lucky and proud to be a small part in helping that dream become reality one day.
Lili Villarreal, AE 1996, M.S. AE 1997
Artemis II Landing and Recovery Director
NASA
(Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)
The SLS core stage is loaded into Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building. (Credit: NASA/Isaac Watson)
NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 carries the Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft out of High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. (Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)
NASA’s Artemis Landing and Recovery team and the military trained for recovery with a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft. (Credit: NASA/Kenneth Allen)
I am excited because this time, my generation is going to the moon.
This mission marks a generational turning point in human space exploration. I live in a world shaped daily by space: GPS guiding me across town, weather satellites informing decisions, and internet connectivity reaching anywhere on Earth. Yet I was not alive the last time humans went to the moon. That era is historic and deeply respected, but it is not my lived experience.
Artemis II changes that. This return to the moon will engage entirely new generations, transforming space exploration from a legacy of history into shared participation. It is an opportunity to pass the torch forward, inviting students, engineers, scientists, and dreamers to see themselves as part of humanity’s outward journey.
This time, we return with decades of technological advancement: extraordinary communications, immersive video and imagery, vastly improved science instruments, and operational experience built across government, industry, and academia. We go to the moon not with a handful of launches per year, but with a space industry that now launches, on average, every few days.
I am excited because this time, my generation is going to the moon.
Mitchell Walker
William R.T. Oakes, Jr. School Chair and Professor
Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
We’re proving that space exploration can actually reflect all of humanity. And it should.
Space Launch System was the first rocket we talked about in my freshman aerospace engineering class. And 10 or so years later, a few months after I defended my Ph.D. thesis, it’s the same one that will carry the first person of color, first woman, and first Canadian to and beyond the moon. It is a true full circle moment for me.
We’re the Artemis generation, building on what Apollo started while charting our own path. What we gain goes beyond the science and technology, though those are incredible and will have major impacts on life on Earth. We’re proving that space exploration can actually reflect all of humanity. And it should.
I also find it interesting that the 40th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger incident is coinciding with yet another poignant time in space history where we’re going farther than we ever have. Their legacy (along with the crews of Apollo I and Columbia STS-107) should remind us that space exploration is a truly heroic enterprise.
I am grateful to be part of the continuation of their work of pushing boundaries — and doing so with all of humanity represented at the forefront.
Naia Butler-Craig, M.S. AE 2023, Ph.D. AE 2026
Space Systems Engineer, Glenn Research Center
NASA
Butler-Craig at the Vehicle Assembly Building for the January rollout of the SLS.
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Astronauts (from left) Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, and Reid Wiseman will venture around the moon. (Credit: NASA/James Blair)
(Credit: Branden Camp)
I suspect most people then would not have expected more than a half century would pass before humans would return.
I was barely two years old the last time humans visited cislunar space. I suspect most people then would not have expected more than a half century would pass before humans would return.
Technology has changed. Human understanding has changed. And the reasons for going to the moon have changed. But the innate drive of all living things to expand through their environment has never wavered. Hopefully, another half century will not need to pass before more humans visit cislunar space again.
Jud Ready, MSE 1994, M.S. MSE 1997, Ph.D. MSE 2000
Executive Director, Space Research Institute
Principal Research Engineer, Georgia Tech Research Institute
Adjunct Professor, School of Materials Science and Engineering
The Artemis launch represents a bridge — between generations, between ambition and sustainability, and between the moon we once raced to and the one we are returning to with purpose.
The Artemis launch represents a bridge — between generations, between ambition and sustainability, and between the moon we once raced to and the one we are returning to with purpose.
I wasn’t alive during the first race, but space was always present in my life. Some of my earliest memories include visits to NASA’s Johnson Space Center with my dad, whose love for science and engineering quietly shaped my own path, even as he sacrificed his dreams to build a life for our family.
Zuberi with the Blue Ghost lunar lander, which successfully landed on the moon in March 2025. (Photo courtesy: Farah Zuberi)
I decided to join Firefly Aerospace almost five years ago, shortly after the company won its first NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract. The opportunity to work on a lunar mission — integrating and operating payloads consisting of lunar science experiments and technology demonstrations destined for the moon — was incredibly meaningful to me. When our Blue Ghost lunar lander touched down in March 2025, making Firefly Aerospace the first commercial company in history to achieve a fully successful soft landing and conduct lunar surface operations, it marked both a professional milestone and the realization of a lifelong passion.
Today, I work on several lunar missions, directly supporting Artemis. As an aerospace engineer, a leader, and a female minority in the industry, Artemis feels deeply personal. It is proof that this new chapter of space exploration is broader, more inclusive, and built by people who grew up dreaming of the moon and are finally helping carry us back.
Farah Zuberi, AE 2012
Director of Spacecraft Mission Management
Firefly Aerospace
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The Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft are transported from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B. (NASA/Ben Smegelsky)
(Credit: NASA/Danielle Burleson)
How could you not be inspired by John Young? ... That legacy inspired me to pursue a career in human spaceflight at NASA.
My team and I are responsible for making sure the landers we manage do what we need them to do and are well integrated with the rest of the Artemis program elements. Those landers will be used in future missions, docking with Orion to pick up the astronauts that will go the surface.
My team and I are very interested in how Orion performs during this mission because Environmental Control Systems, vehicle handling qualities, and how the astronauts perform in deep space during Artemis II will be critical learning opportunities for future missions. Beyond that, I’m just so excited for my friends and colleagues making history with this mission.
When I was a graduate student at Georgia Tech, one of my favorite things to do was go by the display case in the Guggenheim building that housed the pictures and memorabilia from alumni that became astronauts. How could you not be inspired by John Young? Two-time Apollo astronaut, moonwalker, and commander of the very first Space Shuttle flight. That legacy inspired me to pursue a career in human spaceflight at NASA — and it makes me so proud to know that I am building on that legacy of exploration through the Artemis missions.
Tom Percy, M.S. AE 2003
Systems Engineering & Integration Office Manager,
Human Landing System Program
NASA
These Artemis missions will bring us valuable experiences we can build on to go even further — to Mars and beyond.
When astronauts land on the moon, they will do so in a lander that was developed by NASA’s Human Landing System Program and our industry partners. In my role, I focus on evolving our landing capability to enable future, more advanced missions, like delivering large cargo on the lunar surface to support long-duration crewed surface missions and demonstrating capabilities for future human missions to Mars.
I’m excited to see the Artemis II mission launch and follow along with updates from our crew as they see the moon up close. They'll get an epic view of the far side of the moon with the Earth in the background. This flight — in addition to future uncrewed landing demonstrations of the landers — is a crucial test in a series of operations that will prepare us to land future crews on the South Pole region. Lunar surface exploration will reveal new insights about the moon and its resources as we explore regions never visited during Apollo.
These Artemis missions will bring us valuable experiences we can build on to go even further — to Mars and beyond. Exploration has always been inspiring to me because “If we can put someone on the moon…” what else might we be capable of? Ad lunam!
Tara Poston Polsgrove, AE 2000
Chief Lander Architect,
Human Landing System Program
NASA
(Credit: NASA)
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Astronaut Buzz Aldrin at the Apollo 11 lunar landing in July 1969. (Credit: NASA)
A closeup view of an astronaut’s bootprint in the lunar soil, photographed during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity. (Credit: NASA)
Apollo 16 commander — and Georgia Tech grad — John Young collects samples at the North Ray Crater geological site in April 1972. (Credit: NASA)
Sandy Magnus flew to space three times and spent 157 days in orbit. (Credit: NASA/Bill Stafford)
The incredible energy, enthusiasm, and commitment that is focused on establishing humans on our nearest planetary body will serve us well to tackle all challenges.
After many decades of operating in low Earth orbit, developing new technologies and knowledge about living and working in space, it is exciting to see humans on the verge of returning to the moon! And going there to stay — taking the first small step of our journey across the solar system and beyond. Developing habitats, laboratories, and perhaps manufacturing capabilities on the moon will drive innovation and spark creativity, benefiting not only our expansion into the universe but also our lives on Earth and stewardship of our planet.
As we return to the moon more than 50 years after we last visited, we return as residents of spaceship Earth. Instead of two countries competing for a “first” to make points in an ideological war, our return includes multiple countries, inspired entrepreneurs, and private companies, all hoping to play a role in embracing the next human frontier. Will there be problems — technical, operational, political, etc? Of course. But the incredible energy, enthusiasm, and commitment that already exists and is focused on our establishing humans on our nearest planetary body will serve us well to tackle all challenges. Welcome to the future!
Sandy Magnus, Ph.D. MSE 1996
Professor of the Practice
Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
School of Materials Science and Engineering
Sam Nunn School of International Affairs
Principal, AstroPlanetview LLC
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