The King has sent his “heartfelt good wishes” and an impassioned environmental message to the crew of Nasa’s Artemis II mission, the first Moon voyage in over 50 years. In a letter to Canadian astronaut Colonel Jeremy Hansen, Charles expressed hope that the journey would renew the crew’s commitment to protecting Earth from over-exploitation and pollution.
The 10-day lunar flyby, scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral on Wednesday, will take the four astronauts deeper into space than any human has gone before, travelling some 252,000 miles. The UK is contributing to the mission through Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall, which will help track the Orion capsule.
“May that sight renew in you, and in all who follow your journey, the conviction that we must learn from the lessons of how we have over-exploited and polluted our own planet,” Charles wrote. He also stressed the importance of keeping the Moon “a beacon of peaceful scientific discovery rather than a theatre of exploitation,” echoing the principles of his Astra Carta initiative launched in 2023.
The Artemis II mission follows a two-month delay caused by hydrogen fuel leaks and clogged helium lines. Nasa aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2028, ahead of China’s planned lunar landing around 2030. The last human Moon landing was Apollo 17 in 1972.
