NASA’s Moon Rocket Celebrates 250 Years of American Innovation
NASA is celebrating America’s 250th birthday with a bold new symbol of the nation’s relentless drive to explore.
The America 250 emblem now appears on the two solid boosters of the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket – the power plant that will launch a four-person crew around the Moon next year. Unveiled Tuesday, the design echoes the America 250 Commission’s “Spirit of Innovation” theme, honoring a country that has never stopped pushing the horizon.
At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians have spent the past few weeks carefully applying the emblem to the rocket inside the Vehicle Assembly Building — the same place where the Apollo rockets once stood. Engineers are carrying out final tests on SLS and the Orion spacecraft as preparations intensify for Artemis II.
The Artemis II voyage around the Moon, lasting approximately 10 days, will mark a defining moment in this new era of American exploration, paving the way for American crews to land on the lunar surface and ultimately advance to Mars.
America’s spirit of discovery is alive, and Artemis is taking it to the Moon and beyond.
Image credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
