Artemis II The Women Powering the Mission

When we think about space missions like Artemis II, it’s easy to picture astronauts floating in space or walking on the Moon. But Artemis II is powered by thousands of people working behind the scenes.

And so many of them are women.

This is exactly the kind of story we love to share, because the space industry is so much bigger and more exciting than most people realise.

Artemis II The Many Roles Behind the Mission

When we look beyond the astronauts of Artemis II, we see something really exciting: a huge range of careers and so many women playing a part in shaping the future of space.

Artemis II is made possible by people working in roles like:

• Aerospace and systems engineering

• Software development and coding

• Mission planning and operations

• Safety, testing and quality assurance

• Communications and data systems

• Design, manufacturing and materials engineering

  
  

These are the jobs where ideas become reality. Where spacecraft are designed, built, tested, and prepared for launch. Without them, there is no mission.

Women Making It Happen on Artemis II

Women are playing a huge part in the Artemis II project, including designing systems and making sure everything runs safely and smoothly. As highlighted by the National Space Centre, their work spans across the entire mission, not just one area, but everywhere.

Here are just a few of the incredible women helping make it happen:

• Charlie Blackwell-Thompson - NASA’s Artemis launch director, responsible for leading the entire launch team and making those critical go/no-go decisions. A huge leadership role at the very heart of the mission.

• Catherine Koerner - Orion Programme Manager, overseeing the development of the spacecraft that will carry astronauts around the Moon. This is a major engineering and leadership position shaping the whole mission.

• Judith Jehn - Chief engineer for Orion at the European Space Agency, playing a key role in ensuring the spacecraft’s systems work exactly as they should.

• Melissa Jones - Working on avionics systems, helping to design and manage the onboard electronics that control and monitor the spacecraft.

• Kelly McGillis - Supporting mission planning and operations, helping to coordinate the complex details that keep everything running smoothly before and during flight.

  
  

These are engineers, leaders, problem solvers and innovators working across every stage of the mission. And while not every individual role is in the spotlight, together they form the backbone of Artemis II.

Why This Is Important to TECgirls 

This year, we’re placing a big focus on engineering, but why does that matter?

Engineering is at the heart of aerospace and space exploration. It is where creativity meets problem solving, where ideas are tested, improved, and turned into real systems that can travel beyond Earth. It covers everything from designing spacecraft to building the technology that keeps missions safe, and it plays a vital role in a mission like Artemis II.

But it is also an area where girls are still underrepresented and that's why visibility matters so much.

When girls can see women working as engineers on real missions like Artemis II, it changes how they see those careers. It makes them feel more real, more relatable, and more achievable. It helps shift the idea from “someone else does that” to “I could do that too”.

We see first-hand how powerful that moment of recognition can be. Sometimes all it takes is seeing one role model, one story, or one example of a career path to spark a completely new sense of possibility.

Creating Space for Inspiration

There is a whole world of careers in aviation, aerospace and engineering, and many girls never get the chance to see just how wide that world really is.

Aircraft and spacecraft design, flight systems, coding, testing, and problem solving all play a part in building the technologies that shape how we explore and travel. These careers are creative, fast-moving, and full of opportunities to make a real impact.

That is why we run Reach for the Sky Festival.

It is designed to open doors and bring those possibilities to life by giving girls the chance to:

• Meet real role models working across STEM industries

• Explore careers in aviation, aerospace and engineering in a hands-on way

• Take part in interactive activities and real-world challenges

• Discover pathways they may never have heard about before

• Build confidence in seeing themselves in future careers

Most importantly, it creates space for curiosity. Space to ask questions. Space to explore. And space to imagine a future they might not have considered before.

Find out more and buy tickets for Reach for the Sky Festival here.