WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, issued the below statement following the successful launch of the Artemis II mission around the moon. Artemis II is the first crewed mission of the Artemis program and is designed to test the life support system and other critical components of the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion vehicle on a 10-day lunar flyby mission.
“The world will be watching in awe as the Artemis II crew pushes the limits of what humanity can do by traveling around the moon,” said Sen. Cantwell. “This trip lays the groundwork for returning to the Moon’s surface and staying there. And Washington state’s space industry is making it happen – from the thrusters that will guide the Orion spacecraft to and around the moon, to the parachute deployment systems that will return the astronauts safely to Earth.”
Sen. Cantwell has been a champion for our nation’s space industry and its aerospace workforce. Earlier this week, she visited several Washington companies that are supporting the Artemis II mission. In March, Sen. Cantwell led bipartisan, unanimous passage through the Commerce Committee of the NASA Authorization Act of 2026, which confirms support for the Artemis missions.