{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"","standfirst":"Moon fever is once again sweeping the world as NASA plans to launch the Artemis I mission. We catch up on all the latest \u2013 and find out why there are Scout badges on-board the latest Moon shot.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"accordion","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","showExpand":false,"items":[{"gridType":"accordionItem","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","body":"\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E11 of the 12 people who\u0027ve walked on the Moon were Scouts.\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn 2020, UK Scouts hiked to the Moon (and back!) to raise funds for Children in Need.\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECarry on reading to discover more about the fascinating history of Scouts and the Moon!\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E","label":"Did you know these facts about Scouts?"}]},{"type":"Image top","cta":"","body":"","link":null,"colour":"#ffffff","title":"","image":"/media/18404/nasa.png?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd1f862b40","imageFocus":"","imageId":33576,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EThis paves the way for a human landing in 2025. It\u0027ll be 53 years since Apollo 17 sent the last astronauts, Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt, to the lunar surface. Cernan and Schmitt were both Scouts, too!\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the mission is called Artemis I, the huge rocket on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center is called Space Launch System (SLS).\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027ll lift off with its Orion spacecraft from launch pad 39B on a 42-day mission to the Moon and back.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is the same launch pad used for the Apollo 10 mission in early 1969. The Apollo 10 mission put astronauts (and Scouts) Thomas Stafford, John Young and Gene Cernan into orbit around the Moon before the Apollo 11 landing later that year.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe first of three new missions \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EArtemis I will be the first of three new Moon missions. The second is planned to launch in 2024, with a human crew orbiting the Moon.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EArtemis III finally takes a crew of four to the lunar surface in 2025, when two astronauts make the trip down to the Moon\u2019s South Pole. This\u0027ll use the SpaceX Starship lander to reach the surface.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Artemis III Mission is also set be the first to put a woman on the Moon.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the rocket looks similar to the Apollo spacecraft from the 1960s and 70s, the Artemis missions will be using cutting-edge technology and a novel method to reach the Moon. The SLS rocket will take the four astronauts in the Orion spacecraft to a small space station called Gateway \u2013 a lonely outpost in lunar orbit.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe astronauts will board the space station, then await the arrival of the SpaceX Starship, which will dock with the space station. Two astronauts will then climb aboard the lander and descend to the Moon, spending nearly a week on the surface.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThey\u0027ll be collecting samples, including of lunar ice. They\u2019ll also set off on a road trip in a lunar rover to explore the South Pole before reboarding the lander and returning to the Gateway in preparation for their trip back to Earth.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EScout badges will be on board\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EInstead of a human crew, the first Artemis mission will take a surprising selection of objects to the Moon, including a \u2018Moonekin\u2019. The \u0027Moonekin\u0027 is a mannequin fitted with sensor pads and will be used test the effects of the flight.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThey\u0027ll also be taking the first sheep into outer space \u2013 Aardman\u2019s Shaun the Sheep!\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18369/shaun-the-sheep-in-space-002.jpg","width":960,"height":540,"altText":"Shaun the Sheep in space uniform with equipment behind ","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EShaun the Sheep\u0027s a good friend of ours at Scouts. Don\u0027t forget you can find him complete with necker, backpack and magnifying glass ready for his Scouts adventures in his \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://shop.scouts.org.uk/search/shaun%20the%20sheep\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Shaun the Sheep at Scout Store\u0022\u003Erange at Scout Store\u003C/a\u003E!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf particular interest to Scouts will be a set of Girl Scout space science badges, which will also make the trip to the Moon.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe 90 badges will be awarded to the winners of an essay-writing competition, called \u2018To the Moon and Back\u2019, which asked young people to imagine their role in the Moon mission.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, these are not the first Scout badges to travel to the Moon.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENeil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon, was a Scout in Troop 25 from Sandusky, Ohio. He went onto become an Eagle Scout, the highest accolade for a young person in US Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo pay respect to the Scout movement, he took a World Membership Badge to the Moon.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18367/moon-badge-002.jpg","width":540,"height":608,"altText":"Certificate authenticating Scout badge in space signed by Neil Armstrong ","caption":"","link":null}]}],"config":null},{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EThe badge is now in the safekeeping of the World Organisation of the Scout Movement, along with a letter of authenticity that is signed by Neil Armstrong. It reads: \u2018I certify that this World Scout Badge was carried on the surface of the Moon on the first lunar landing, Apollo XI, July 20, 1969\u2019.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOur Hike to the Moon\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003ETo commemorate the 50\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C/sup\u003E anniversary of the first Moon landing, we issued a set of badges called \u2018Scouts on the Moon\u2019 in 2019, not knowing what would happen next.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18403/scoutsonthemoonbadgeset.png","width":706,"height":501,"altText":"Scouts on the Moon set of three commemorative badges","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EIn 2020, UK Scouts made a surprise return trip to the Moon as part of their mission to raise funds for Children in Need\u2019s Night In Appeal, which supported communities worst hit by the pandemic.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring the monumental \u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/news/2020/may/how-scouts-hiked-to-the-moon/\u0022 title=\u0022How we hiked to the Moon, helping people along the way\u0022\u003EHike to the Moon\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/span\u003E, Scouts raised a whopping \u00A3376,000, including badge sales, which was match-funded by the government to \u00A3750,000.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts hiked more than 440,000 miles to the Moon and back with trips up and down their staircases, laps of their gardens and local parks. An incredible effort!\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18366/hike-to-the-moon-002.jpg","width":1600,"height":900,"altText":"Hike to the Moon promotional image with logo","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EScouts in space \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESince NASA\u0027s formation in 1958, 181 of the 320 pilots and scientists selected by NASA were Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf the 24 people to travel to the Moon on the Apollo missions, 20 were Scouts, including 11 of the 12 Moonwalkers.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAll three of the Apollo 13 astronauts, who had to abort their mission and return to Earth were also Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThree Scouts astronauts have travelled to the Moon twice.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut these great feats of exploration came at a cost. All three of the astronauts who died in the Apollo I fire, four of the seven who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger, and five of the seven who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia were Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese future missions honour their memory and continue to inspire a new generation of Scouts looking up to the Moon.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe next Scout on the Moon?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWho knows which Scouts will land on the Moon next?\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/about-us/our-people/scout-ambassadors/\u0022 title=\u0022Scout Ambassadors\u0022\u003EScout Ambassador Tim Peake\u003C/a\u003E says:\u00A0\u2018I\u2019d love to be on one of those Artemis Missions, for sure. The International Space Station is a wonderful place to live and work, but as a test pilot, getting up on one of those early Artemis missions would be the absolute pinnacle\u2019.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003ELearn more about the Moon with a fun activity\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Image top","cta":"Run this activity","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EObserve the Moon, then recreate a much tastier version with a biscuit (or two)!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","link":{"name":"Mystic biscuit moons","id":null,"url":"/activities/mystic-biscuit-moons/","newWindow":false,"target":null},"colour":"#f1f1f1","title":"","image":"/media/18402/mysticbiscuitmoons.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd1f6e3670","imageFocus":"","imageId":33573,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"25 August 2022","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"How Scouts hiked to the moon","url":"/news/2020/may/how-scouts-hiked-to-the-moon/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Read more about Scout Ambassador Tim Peake","url":"/about-us/our-people/scout-ambassadors/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Try the Scouts Activity Finder","url":"/activities/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Discover the Shaun the Sheep range at Scout Store","url":"https://shop.scouts.org.uk/search/shaun%20the%20sheep","newWindow":true}],"id":50766,"nodeName":"Scouts on the Moon","title":"Scouts on the Moon","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/18404/nasa.png?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd1f862b40","caption":"NASA","type":"png","size":500578,"width":570,"height":473,"altText":"NASA rocket waiting for launch with glowing moon behind"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Scouts on the Moon","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Discover the fascinating history of Scouts and the Moon","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC81MDc2NiJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2022/august/scouts-on-the-moon/"}