From the Alamo City to mission control: A Northside ISD alum is playing a vital role in NASA’s Artemis II program, set for a historic lunar journey on Wednesday. 🚀
SAN ANTONIO — As NASA prepares for a historic return to deep space on Wednesday, Northside Independent School District is spotlighting an alumnus who has played a role in making it happen.
Northside ISD gave a shout out to Stephen McNierney, who is working on NASA’s Artemis II mission within the Human Health and Performance Directorate at Johnson Space Center.
According to district officials, McNierney attended Oak Hills Terrace and Locke Hill Elementary schools, Rawlinson Middle School and Clark High School before pursuing his career in space exploration.
In his current role, the district said McNierney leads and supports teams responsible for delivering critical medical, exercise and environmental monitoring equipment that astronauts will use aboard the Orion capsule. His work has included design efforts and crew training activities. During the mission, he is expected to serve shifts in the Mission Evaluation Room, providing hardware expertise to flight controllers overseeing the mission from Mission Control, according to district officials.
Northside ISD praised McNierney’s journey and credited the educators who nurtured his early interest in space, giving a nod to teachers across the district who continue to inspire students to pursue careers in science and technology.
NASA’s Artemis II mission is set to lift off with a two-hour launch window opening at 5:24 p.m. CT. The four-person crew: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will become the first humans in more than 50 years to travel toward the moon.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface and establish a sustained human presence there for the first time since the Apollo era. During the roughly 10-day flight, the crew will travel around the moon and back, testing and validating systems aboard the Orion spacecraft to ensure it is ready for future lunar landings.
Northside ISD said McNierney’s behind-the-scenes contributions will help support astronaut health and performance during the groundbreaking mission, marking a proud moment for San Antonio as one of its own helps send humans back to deep space.