Santa Visits Artemis II Rocket

Santa Claus (NASA engineer Guy Naylor) poses with NASA’s Artemis II Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, December 11, 2025. The Orion spacecraft was stacked atop the SLS in October 2025.

Scheduled for launch in early 2026, the Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with an Artemis-led crew. Astronauts on their first flight aboard Orion will confirm that all of the spacecraft’s systems are functioning as intended with the crew on board in the real-world deep space environment. Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefit, and to lay the groundwork for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all.

Image credit: NASA/Adeline Morgan