The Artemis II Mission Team
Companion to “Everyone Watched the Rocket. I Watched the Room.”
The main article profiles seven stories from the Artemis II ground operation. But the full mission runs on far more than seven people. Flight directors, backup astronauts, science officers, mission managers, a recovery director, and hundreds of engineers across three continents hold this mission together from positions the public will never see.
This page is for them. Every name here represents someone whose work the Artemis II crew is trusting with their lives right now. They deserve to be found, read about, and remembered.
All names, titles, and contributions verified against nasa.gov, esa.int, Canadian Space Agency, and authoritative journalism sources.
In the order the mission needs them.
Charlie Blackwell-Thompson | Launch Director, Exploration Ground Systems, Kennedy Space Center
NASA’s first female launch director. On April 1, she oversaw 91 controllers in Firing Room 1 and made the final call to launch. She has spent 30 years at NASA and holds multiple patents related to launch vehicle systems. Her authority during countdown is absolute, and it ends the moment the rocket clears the pad.
Vanessa Wyche | Director, Johnson Space Center
The first Black woman to lead any NASA center. She oversees more than 10,000 civil servants and contractors, the astronaut corps, Mission Control, and the Orion and Gateway programs. Wyche has served at NASA for over 35 years, starting as a project engineer in 1989.
Jeff Radigan | Lead Flight Director, Artemis II, Johnson Space Center
Call sign: Resolute Flight. More than 20 years of ISS experience. His work started long before launch: building mission timelines, developing flight rules, writing procedures, leading simulations. On April 3, his voice told the crew they were “go” for translunar injection.
Judd Frieling | Ascent Flight Director
Led the flight control team through launch and ascent, when forces on the vehicle are greatest and margins are smallest. An Artemis I veteran who supported more than 20 shuttle missions.
Rick Henfling | Entry Flight Director
Owns reentry: Orion at 25,000 mph, temperatures approaching 5,000°F. One chance. Background in shuttle ascent, entry, and abort operations plus a decade as a station flight director.
Stan Love | Lead CAPCOM (Capsule Communicator), NASA Astronaut
One voice speaks to the crew on behalf of every flight controller. Every instruction, every update, every critical decision is filtered through him before it reaches the astronauts.
Jenni Sidey-Gibbons | Backup Astronaut and CAPCOM, Canadian Space Agency
Trained identically to Jeremy Hansen. Prepared the inside of Orion before launch. Became a voice from Mission Control during the mission. Also training as a lunar CAPCOM for future missions.
André Douglas | Backup Astronaut, NASA
Helped strap the prime crew into their seats. Closed the hatch. The last hands the crew felt before they left Earth.
Derrol Nail | Lead Launch Commentator, NASA Communications
Called the Artemis II launch for the global audience. Translated every technical issue during the countdown into language millions could follow in real time.
Megan Cruz | Broadcast Host, NASA Communications
Hosted the main NASA+ broadcast from Kennedy Space Center on launch day. Also hosts NASA+ original programming bringing space science to the public.
Nichole Ayers | Broadcast Commentator, NASA Astronaut
Provided expert commentary during the launch livestream. Former F-22 pilot. Spent 146 days aboard the ISS during Crew 10 (2025). Brought spaceflight experience to the broadcast from behind a microphone.
Kelsey Young, Trevor Graff, and Angela Garcia | Science Officers, Artemis II (NASA’s first)
First people ever certified to sit at the new SCIENCE console in Mission Control. Months of flight controller training, certification simulations, and geology fieldwork in Iceland. They bridge science back rooms with flight controllers in real time.
When the crew flies over the far side of the Moon, these three translate what the astronauts see into scientific value for everyone on Earth.
John Honeycutt | Mission Management Team Chair
Leads the 15-member team that integrates technical data across NASA and its partners, manages risk, and makes go/no-go calls at every major decision point.
Lili Villarreal | Landing and Recovery Director, Exploration Ground Systems
When Orion splashes down off the coast of San Diego, Villarreal’s team takes over. Joint NASA and Department of Defense recovery operation. She is the last leader in the chain.
The European Service Module Team | ESA, Airbus, and over 100 suppliers across 13 countries
Propulsion, electricity, air, water, and temperature control for the entire mission. Built by Airbus in Bremen, Germany. Monitored around the clock from the Eagle room at ESTEC in the Netherlands and the Mission Evaluation Room in Houston (200+ specialists).
ESA Director Daniel Neuenschwander: “Although no ESA astronaut is part of this flight, the European Space Agency is.”
Separates from the crew capsule and burns up in the atmosphere after the mission. Gone.
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