South Africans Make Jokes About SANSA’s Role in Artemis II Moon Mission

Published 6 Apr 2026 at 10:39 AM

by Tebogo Mokwena

3 min read

The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) will be keeping an eye on NASA’s Artemis Two spaceflight mission
The mission is sending astronauts on a trip around the moon for more than one week
South Africans weighing in on SANSA’s role were not happy that South Africa was helping NASA, and some made jokes about South Africa’s space agency

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Tebogo Mokwena, affiliated with Briefly News, covered local and international politics, political analysis, and interviews in South Africa for Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News during his 10 years of experience.

The South African National Space Agency will be monitoring the Orion capsule of the Artemis II lunar mission — SANSA's assistance in monitoring Artemis II will be critical. Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

HARTEBEESTHOEK, GAUTENG— South Africans cracked the comment section with jokes about the assistance the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) is providing, which is playing a crucial role in the success of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

According to SABC News, a third party contracted SANSA on the Orion capsule, which is part of the mission sending four astronauts around the moon for a 10-day mission. SANSA will host one of the three NASA Lunar Exploration Ground Site communication antennas. According to SANSA’s Executive Director of Space Operations, Raoul Hodges, SANSA will ensure that the Orion capsule’s trajectory is in the right direction. SANSA will also monitor the capsule’s battery and power supply and relay the information it obtains to the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory in Washington, United States.

A look at the Artemis II mission

The Artemis II mission crew consists of astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The mission is the first crewed mission in over 53 years. The rocket was launched at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 1 April 2026. The crew is expected to witness a rare 53-minute solar eclipse from deep space. They will see the sun pass behind the moon from their perspective, which Artemis Science Flight Operations Lead Dr. Kelsey Young said is a unique perspective for the mission. NASA is also using the mission to prepare for a moon landing in 2028.

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Four astronauts will be travelling to the moon on a 10-day trip in space — Astronauts from the US and Canada are heading into space for the first time in decades. Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

What did South Africans say?

Netizens in the comment section roasted SANSA and jokingly compared it to common South African stereotypes.

Ronny Modika said:

“Let’s hope the moon won’t be available for a tender bid from our side because that will cost NASA 10 trillion dollars plus coke on top.”

Journalist explains records Artemis mission breaks

In a related article, Briefly News reported that a journalist revealed that the Artemis II mission is set to break records. The four-person crew will spend 10 days in orbit around the moon testing critical systems that will keep them alive in harsh conditions.

The crew will then travel to the moon, 13,400 kilometres farther than the Apollo 13 moon landing in 1970. The success of the trip would mean that humans landed back on the moon for the first time in half a century, where they will be exploring the region near the lunar South Pole.