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A special patch worn by the Artemis 2 astronauts honors America\u2019s 250th anniversary. The theme of NASA\u2019s celebration is “Rocket\u2019s Red Glare,” a famous lyric in “The Star-Spangled Banner.” (Image credit: NASA\/Joel Kowsky)<\/p>\n
The party was already underway in April, when the Artemis 2<\/a> mission circled the moon. The four Artemis 2 astronauts \u2014 three from NASA and one from the Canadian Space Agency<\/a> \u2014 sported “America 250” patches among their gear.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The patch shows NASA’s Space Launch System<\/a> (SLS) rocket launching into the black, near a “250” surrounded by stars. Around the edges of the patch are the words “NASA: The rocket’s red glare,” alluding to the U.S. national anthem.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n Another version of the America 250 emblem, prominently featuring the numbers in red and blue, also was mounted<\/a> on each of the solid rocket boosters of Artemis 2’s SLS.<\/p>\n There’s a lot more planned in the coming weeks to ramp up to Independence Day and beyond. NASA said it will have a “series of special aircraft flyovers” at the following locations and times:<\/p>\n July 3-5: The Great American State Fair, Washington, D.C.July 4: Salute to America: The Nation’s 250th Birthday Fireworks Celebration, Washington, D.C.July 23-24: EAA AirVenture, Oshkosh, WisconsinAug. 23: Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.Oct. 3-4: Pacific Air Show, Huntington Beach, CaliforniaOct. 31-Nov. 1: Commemorative Air Force Wings Over Houston Air Show<\/p>\n The agency also plans to make a special appearance at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between June 25 and July 10. NASA will host a pavilion featuring Artemis<\/a>, a model of its planned Moon Base<\/a> and a crew survival suit for the Orion spacecraft<\/a>.<\/p>\n Other pavilion exhibits include “authentic spacesuit tools, immersive pop-up visuals, the X-59<\/a> experimental aircraft model, interactive tabletop demonstrations, astronaut food, and life-size astronaut cutouts for photos,” NASA officials stated.<\/p>\n NASA has also celebrated America 250 by displaying the event logo<\/a> on the countdown clock at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Artemis 2 launch site, and lighting up the Washington Monument<\/a> with an SLS rocket projection around New Year’s Eve.<\/p>\n![\"Space\"](\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/media\/img\/spc-logo-w.svg\"){kind=logo}
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