Inside Artemis II: Meet the Engineers Powering the Next Mission to the Moon
[[{“value”:”
What does it take to send humans back to the Moon?
During a recent STEM Next Career Chat, teens across the country got an inside look at the technology, teamwork, and career paths behind Artemis II, the upcoming mission that will send astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
Moderated by teen Flight Crew member from Texas, Rory, the conversation featured two professionals helping make this historic mission possible: Chelsea Partridge, Requirements and Verification Manager for the Orion spacecraft at Lockheed Martin, and George Gorospe, Senior Research Engineer at NASA’s Ames Research Center. Together, they shared how their careers led them into space exploration and what it takes to design systems capable of carrying humans deeper into space.
Falling in Love with Engineering at Kennedy Space Center
For Chelsea, the spark for a career in aerospace began while she was still in high school. Through NASA’s INSPIRE internship program, she spent time at Kennedy Space Center during the final years of the Space Shuttle program. Seeing that historic moment firsthand changed the trajectory of her career.
“I was super, super lucky,” she said. “That was a time when we were finalizing the shuttle program.” Those internships helped her realize what she wanted to pursue. “That’s where I fell in love with mechanical engineering.”
After studying mechanical engineering at the University of North Florida, Chelsea joined Lockheed Martin and has now spent more than a decade working on Orion, the spacecraft designed to carry astronauts on the Artemis missions.
She has worked in testing, production, and systems engineering before stepping into her current leadership role, managing mission requirements. Her team manages an enormous set of details to ensure astronaut safety. For Artemis II alone, Orion must meet more than 50,000 mission requirements before launch.
‘Space has lots of difficult problems, and we need lots of hands to get there.’
George took a different path into engineering. As an undergraduate at Dartmouth College, he studied classical studies, history, and philosophy before later pursuing mechanical engineering and robotics.
Today, he works in the Intelligent Systems Division at NASA Ames, helping develop technologies that will support future deep-space missions, including those to Mars.
In his role, George works to solve unique challenges that exploring deep space presents. Communication delays are one example.
“In the future, missions to Mars need to account for a one-way time delay of 20 minutes or even more,” George explained. “So this delay means that astronauts can’t reliably rely on real-time support from Earth.”
Because of these challenges, NASA engineers are developing systems that allow astronauts and spacecraft to operate more independently during long missions. George emphasized that solving problems like these requires large teams with diverse expertise working together. “Space has lots of difficult problems, and we need lots of hands to get there.”
The Next Frontier: Long-Term Space Exploration
The Artemis program, led by NASA, aims to return humans to the Moon while laying the groundwork for long-term exploration to Mars.
While the Artemis I mission tested the Orion spacecraft without astronauts on board, Artemis II will carry a crew on a lunar flyby mission, testing the systems astronauts will rely on during future lunar landings.
But the program is about more than a single mission; rather, its long-term goal is sustained exploration. The Artemis program aims to build new technologies, partnerships, and systems that will enable humans to live and work beyond Earth for longer periods of time.
“This time, we’re going back to stay. To build and to prepare for the next giant leap,” said George.
Advice for Future Space Explorers
Throughout the session, teens asked thoughtful questions about preparing for careers in aerospace engineering and space science. Both speakers encouraged students to explore their interests broadly and pursue opportunities to gain hands-on experience, from internships to school projects to STEM clubs.
George reminded students that future missions will depend on the next generation of engineers, scientists, and innovators.
“You guys are the next generation,” he said. “You’re a key part of getting us to Mars.”
For the young people tuning in, the message was clear: the future of space exploration is already underway, and today’s learners could be the ones helping humanity take its next giant leap.
Artemis II is set to launch soon. Keep up to date with the latest on the mission and launch date on NASA’s website.
This is a recap of our career chat “Careers that Launch Missions: Inside Artemis II with NASA” hosted on February 25, 2026. To access the recording, please fill out the quick form below:
The post Inside Artemis II: Meet the Engineers Powering the Next Mission to the Moon appeared first on STEM Next.
“}]]