Minutes before departing for the launch pad, the Artemis II crew completed one final preflight task: a quick card game — a long-standing astronaut tradition meant to ward off bad luck.
The crew briefly played “highest card wins” with NASA’s chief astronaut, Scott Tingle. Tradition dictates that the group keeps dealing until the chief loses a round so he can symbolically take the bad luck, leaving the crew to head to the rocket on a positive note.
Retired NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Cassidy, who flew three space missions and logged 378 days in space and 10 spacewalks, told CBS News that the ritual helps crews leave Earth with camaraderie and calm. Cassidy said watching friends board a rocket is harder than climbing in oneself — and that traditions like the card game help crews set aside nerves and superstition before launch.
Cassidy, who knows several members of the Artemis II team personally, praised the crew’s preparation and temperament. He singled out Jeremy Hansen, noting that Hansen waited 17 years for this mission, and offered a personal message: “Savor every moment.” Cassidy said the views and moments of a lunar test flight are rare, and the impressions the crew brings back — pictures, descriptions and feelings — will be what the public remembers.
On technical matters, Cassidy explained the safety built into Artemis II’s trajectory. The mission uses a free-return trajectory: after the trans-lunar injection (TLI) burn that pushes Orion out of Earth orbit, the spacecraft is placed on a path that, thanks to lunar gravity, will bring it back toward Earth without requiring a long engine burn to return. In theory, that TLI burn provides the energy needed to get home; in practice, crews will perform correction burns and carry out mission tests while benefiting from that added margin of safety.
Cassidy reminded the crew to “savor every moment,” noting that even experienced astronauts don’t know when a flight might be their last. He also emphasized the inspirational value of the flight, saying young people watching could be inspired to pursue careers in space — perhaps to be the first to walk on Mars — after seeing Artemis II launch.
The card game, then, is both superstition and ritual: a small, human moment that helps the crew live a centuries-old tradition of shifting focus from the uncertainty of launch to the positive, shared experience of leaving Earth together.