Daniel Lauchú, from Panama, is part of the team working on the transmission of the Artemis II mission, the first crewed mission of NASA's Artemis program that will take astronauts back to lunar orbit after more than five decades. Lauchú shared a pre-launch message from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where he explained his role in covering the mission. "Here from Cape Canaveral, just leaving the John F. Kennedy space station, where they were working on the transmission of the most important mission in NASA's history: Artemis II," he said. Before joining NASA, Lauchú developed a career in multimedia production at international networks such as CNN and Univision. "To get to NASA, I had a background in the world of sports," he noted. He currently serves as a senior multimedia director and producer at NASA in Washington, D.C. In June 2025, Lauchú received an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his work on the broadcast of the 2024 total solar eclipse. In that context, Lauchú is part of the team in charge of bringing the launch and mission broadcast to audiences around the world. The Artemis II Mission will be the first crewed mission of the Artemis program. The goal is to conduct a flyby around the Moon to test life support systems and other technologies needed for future missions. This phase aims to pave the way for future operations on the lunar surface and the development of permanent infrastructure there. For approximately 10 days, four astronauts will travel aboard the Orion spacecraft, launched by the Space Launch System rocket. Lauchú is a professional of Panamanian origin with parents from Colón. As he has recounted in interviews, his family moved to Panama City when he was five years old. "At the age of five, my family decided to move to the capital. My parents have always instilled in me the importance of focusing on my goals," he recounted. During that time, he faced the challenge of adapting to a new language and environment. Later, his family moved to the United States, to the city of Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. He also worked in sports production, an experience that shaped his early professional years. "I was a producer at CNN. I covered several Panama games and specials about Mariano Rivera and Roberto Durán," he said. "As a Panamanian and a native of Colón, I am filled with pride to be part of this mission and to carry this flag with me during the broadcast of this mission, which is so important for humanity," he commented. "Well, it's the return of humans to lunar orbit." He also described what that kind of real-time communication entails. "Sometimes you can't contact your family by phone because there's no signal, but you can communicate with astronauts in space. It still seems otherworldly to me," he noted.
