Later this year, NASA is set to launch a probe the size of a tennis court to the asteroid belt, a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter where remnants of the early solar system circle the sun. Once inside the asteroid belt, the spacecraft will zero in on Psyche, a large, metal-rich asteroid that is thought to be the ancient core of an early planet. The probe, named after its asteroid target, will then spend close to two years orbiting and analyzing Psyche's surface for clues to how early planetary bodies evolved.

Ahead of the mission, which is led by principal investigator Lindy Elkins-Tanton, planetary scientists at MIT and elsewhere have now provided a sneak peak of what the Psyche spacecraft might see when it reaches its destination.

Space travel is clearly for astronauts and the super rich, but NASA has found a way the rest of us can claim our spot among the cosmos.

"You can send your name to the Moon," agency officials wrote in a June 12 Facebook post.

"How? Sign up to get your boarding pass and join the nearly 3 million 'passengers' flying around the Moon aboard #Artemis I this year."

Names can be added to the list by visiting Nasa.gov/wearegoing.

NASA says the names of all 3 million "passengers" will circle the moon on a flash drive aboard the Orion spacecraft and the trip will cover 1,300,000 miles.

While that definitely qualifies as cheap seats, the occasion will be historic at multiple levels.

NASA says the uncrewed Artemis I qualifies as our first step toward building "a long-term human presence at the Moon for decades to come."

"The flight paves the way toward landing the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon!" NASA reports.

"We will collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon.

The European Space Agency and NASA on Wednesday talked up the prospect of putting the first European on the moon, as they signed a deal strengthening collaboration for future lunar exploration.

The space agencies had already agreed that three European astronauts would fly on the Orion spacecraft to NASA's Gateway, a space station that will orbit the moon as part of the Artemis program.

Now it seems one of those astronauts will go a step further.

"We look forward to having an ESA astronaut join us on the surface of the moon and continuing to build on our longstanding, critical partnership," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said after attending an ESA council meeting in the Netherlands.

"NASA is counting on cooperation with ESA to propel exploration of the moon through the Artemis program," Nelson said in a statement, adding that "the European Service Module is the powerhouse of the Orion spacecraft".

The agencies also signed a deal on the Lunar Pathfinder, a planned communications satellite being built by British firm SSTL.