Washington, Oct 30 (IANS): NASA has selected National Geographic to help tell the story of Artemis II, the first Artemis flight that will carry astronauts around the Moon and back to Earth aboard the agency's Orion spacecraft, the US space agency said.

National Geographic was selected following a competitive selection process.

The US space agency and National Geographic has entered into a non-reimbursable (no-exchange-of-funds) Space Act Agreement to collaborate on compact, lightweight audiovisual hardware to fly inside Orion and related support for the project, NASA said in a statement.

"Returning humans to the Moon with Artemis II will inspire the next generation of explorers," said Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

"This time, we are bringing partners and technologies that will create additional opportunities for the world to share in the experience along with our astronauts," she added.

National Geographic plans to leverage its portfolio of media assets, including magazines, social and digital content, and television programming, for engagement opportunities. Those would include capabilities for creating an immersive experience aboard Orion to share the story of human exploration of the Moon.

In November 2020, NASA had called for proposals to collaborate on unique public engagement, starting with Artemis II.

Artemis mission activities will include Artemis I, an uncrewed flight test that will launch Orion on NASA's Space Launch System rocket to orbit the Moon and return to Earth.

Artemis II will carry a crew aboard Orion, paving the way for future missions to send the first woman and first person of colour to the surface of the Moon.