Artemis II astronauts, from left, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen pose for a photo at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Jan. 17, 2026. Wiseman and Glover both served as naval aviators during Operation Iraqi Freedom and are now leading and piloting the mission, which is the first crewed journey to the moon’s vicinity in over 50 years. (NASA)
The world’s first crewed mission to the moon since 1972, which launched Wednesday, is quietly continuing the civilian space sector’s long tradition of benefiting from U.S. military expertise.
The NASA mission’s commander, Reid Wiseman, and pilot, Victor J. Glover, Jr., both supported Operation Iraqi Freedom; one of the mission’s crucial components was tested at an Army facility in Arizona; and the recovery of the astronauts will be facilitated by personnel with the Space Force and Navy.
Artemis II will not land on the moon, but its journey to the moon’s vicinity will test whether the SLS rocket and Orion capsule can support astronauts on future missions that could culminate in a lunar base. The astronauts could also end up traveling farther from Earth than anyone before them, and there is a chance they will be the first to directly see the moon’s dark side.
The crew includes American Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
If successful, it will be followed by Artemis III, which aims to test commercial landers in 2027, and Artemis IV, which aims to conduct the first human exploration of the moon’s south pole by 2028. Artemis V is anticipated to mark the start of development on a moon base. All of these unprecedented goals are stepping stones for an eventual path to Mars, as the logo for the Artemis missions declares.
The red curve in the logo for the Artemis missions signifies the path to Mars that NASA intends the lunar missions to pave the way for. (NASA)
Similarly to how Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon 17 years after his last combat deployment, in Korea, Wiseman is commanding America’s return to the moon 23 years after his combat deployment in Iraq. Glover, who still serves in the Navy, is piloting the mission roughly two decades after flying in Iraq.
Wiseman, a retired Navy captain, was commissioned in 1997 and designated as a naval aviator in 1999, according to his NASA biography. He deployed for Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom before he transitioned in 2004 to being a test pilot at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
Glover, a Navy captain, completed advanced flight training in 2001. He deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and later undertook a one-year experimental piloting course before getting designated as a test pilot in 2007.
Artemis II commander and retired Navy captain Reid Wiseman at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Friday, March 27, 2026. (NASA)
Artemis II pilot and Navy Capt. Victor Glover at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Friday, March 27, 2026. (NASA)
Of the 360 people selected to be astronauts by NASA since the profession was created, 212 served in the Armed Forces.
But Wiseman and Glover represent a little-noticed transition in the small community of veterans going into space.
Of the 38 active astronauts listed on NASA’s website, half served in combat in the Global War on Terror, including Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and Inherent Resolve.
Astronauts are the most high-profile example of military skills being put to use on America’s space program, but hardly the only one.
Key to the mission’s success is the deployment of Orion’s parachutes, which will be tasked with keeping the massive deceleration of reentry safe for astronauts when they return to Earth. The parachute system was developed with multiple tests from 2011 to 2018 at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.
Though most of the proving ground’s personnel are civilians, active-duty soldiers with the elite Airborne Test Force, who are knowledgeable about cargo and personnel parachute testing, helped test the system, said Mark Schauer, a public affairs officer at the facility.
Air Force personnel were also involved with the testing at YPG, such as by using a C-17 Globemaster to airdrop a mockup of the Orion craft in 2017.
Parts of the Orion space capsule's parachute system are examined after a test at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, July 18, 2012. The capsule is a key component of NASA’s Artemis II mission. (Mark Schauer/U.S. Army)
Though a safe landing is essential to mission success, it matters little if the astronauts and their module are not quickly and safely recovered at sea.
Retrieving the crew upon their splashdown in the Pacific Ocean “is a very complex operation, and it requires unique skills and equipment,” said Jason Endsley, Landing and Recovery lead for Amentum, which contracts with NASA.
NASA specifically uses the Navy’s LPD-class amphibious transport dock ships, Endsley said, which have a floodable well deck that allows the safe recovery of the space module. The module can provide information on flight and reentry performance, and some of its components can be repurposed, he said.
“We go underway with the Navy when we go out for recovery. So on that vessel, you have NASA, contractors and military personnel working hand in hand through all phases of recovery,” Endsley said.
NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya speaks with the crew of San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) during an all-hands call at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., March 20, 2026. The ship is preparing to support U.S. Space Command's mission to retrieve the Artemis II crew and spacecraft upon their anticipated splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. (Joshua Martinez/U.S. Navy)
Sailors assigned to amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26), and NASA engineers prepare to release a crew module from the ship’s well deck in the Pacific Ocean, Jan. 26, 2026. The training was aimed at preparing personnel for the eventual recovery mission of Artemis II’s astronauts. (Jomark A. Almazan/U.S. Navy)
NASA’s recovery missions also involve collaboration with the Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron, based at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., Endsley said. The squadron releases a weather balloon from the Navy ship and helps record data about conditions in the area.
“We bring some weather squadron personnel with us, and we launch [the balloon] right there in the ocean,” Endsley said.
Endsley noted that on the off chance something goes wrong and the astronauts do not land in their designated area of the Pacific Ocean, U.S. military personnel around the world are prepared to assist recovery operations.
Just as how America’s original moonshot took place in a space race, Artemis II is launching in an age of space competition and renewed interest in the moon.
Russia in 2023 unsuccessfully launched its first lunar mission in 47 years. Just days later, India’s success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission made the country the world’s fourth to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface, and the first to land on the moon’s south pole.
Meanwhile, China is aiming to land humans on the moon by 2030. Artemis IV is scheduled to set humans on the lunar surface by 2028, but delays could potentially result in each country’s crewed landings happening at a similar time.
An executive order signed by President Donald Trump in December 2025 designated space superiority as a policy goal and listed the Artemis program, the commercial space market and missile defense as interlinked priorities.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has repeatedly linked space exploration and security in public statements, stating at a defense conference in February that “NASA’s mission and national security are inseparable.” At another conference last week, however, Isaacman affirmed that “science and discovery remain at the heart of NASA’s mission.”
