Personalized Artemis II bedtime book
Four astronauts climbed into the Orion capsule and saw the Moon up close again, the first crew to do it in fifty years. In the storybook, your kid comes along and tells the story.
Artemis II was the first crewed flight of the new lunar programme: it launched on April 1, 2026 and splashed down in the Pacific ten days later, on April 10. The crew — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen — flew around the Moon without landing, testing every system before Artemis III, and set the record for the farthest distance humans have ever travelled in space. In the storybook, laIA draws your kid in the fifth seat of the Orion capsule, with their favourite plushie clipped to the suit.
Each page follows one day of the mission: the countdown at Cape Canaveral, the first laps around Earth, the burn toward the Moon, the moment when the Madrid Deep Space antenna (yes, in Spain) hears the first 'hello' from out there, and the trip home. Christina Koch — the first woman on this kind of flight — explains to the protagonist how Earth keeps shrinking in the window.
Artemis II is the mission that paves the way for any kid hearing this story tonight to one day really sit in that capsule. The book closes on that promise, written in gold ink.
What kids love about this mission
- The countdown in Florida and the roar of the SLS rocket at night.
- Meeting the four real astronauts (with faces and names).
- The Madrid Deep Space antenna catching the first message back from the Moon.
- The 'one day I could go too' line that closes the book.
The real science
The real part: the four-person crew, the Orion capsule, the SLS rocket and the ten-day lunar flyby were NASA's actual mission — Artemis II flew April 1–10, 2026 and set the record for the farthest distance humans have ever travelled in space. Signals from Moon missions really do pass through the Madrid deep-space antenna. The story part: your kid didn't ride in the real capsule and the astronauts don't talk to them. We keep that line clear.
Age fit: Best for ages 3–9, and especially lovely for kids who dream of being astronauts: it ends on the gold-ink promise that one day they could go themselves.
Pick Artemis II in Guided mode, upload your kid's photo and choose who they should meet first: Reid, Christina, Victor or Jeremy.
Create your Artemis II story →Frequently asked questions
What is the Artemis II mission?
Artemis II was the first crewed flight of NASA's Artemis lunar programme. Four astronauts looped around the Moon aboard the Orion capsule — launching April 1, 2026 and splashing down in the Pacific on April 10 — without landing on the surface, the rehearsal with people on board before Artemis III touches down. It was also the farthest a human has ever travelled into space.
Does Artemis II land on the Moon?
No. Artemis II is a flyby: the crew rounds the Moon and comes home. The programme's first landing is the next mission, Artemis III. The storybook makes that clear so your kid knows what's real.
Who are the astronauts in the story?
The four real ones: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch — the first woman on a lunar mission — and Canada's Jeremy Hansen. Your kid picks who they meet first when they create the book.
What age is it for, and does my child appear?
It's written for ages 3 to 9. You upload one or more photos and laIA draws your kid in the fifth seat of Orion, in cartoon style. Photos are deleted after 30 days and never used to train models.
Other missions
Read the pillar guide: space mission stories for kids.