New NASA partnership sees Scouting America shoot for the stars

What began as "one small step for [a] man” has, more than half a century later, grown into one of Scouting's most enduring legacies. Famously, of the dozen astronauts who walked on the moon during NASA's Apollo programme, 11 of them were Scouts, including Eagle Scout Neil Armstrong, whose iconic quote became one of the most recognised phrases in human history.

Fast forward to today, and that legacy is very much alive. Scouting America has strengthened its ties with the US space programme, announcing a new partnership with NASA in support of the Artemis programme, which this week launched its first crewed mission to the moon in more than 50 years. Among them is mission specialist Christina Hammock Koch, a former Girl Scout and the first woman to travel beyond low‑Earth orbit.

Through this new collaboration, Scouting America aims to spark curiosity and ambition among a new generation of young people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) - all delivered through Scouting’s lens of teamwork, problem-solving, and ethical leadership.

The partnership complements Scouting America’s existing Space Exploration Merit Badge, helping Scouts from all backgrounds explore STEM through topics such as aerospace engineering, robotics, earth and space science, and mission design.

While no official records exist, it has been estimated that at least two-thirds of all NASA astronauts have had a connection with Scouting, a figure that comes as no surprise given that the skills Scouting develops, such as collaboration, leadership, and a spirit of exploration, are those that space agencies actively look for in candidates willing to push the boundaries of human discovery.

Back on Earth, perhaps no single artefact captures this connection better than the purple World Scout badge that Neil Armstrong carried to the moon's surface on Apollo 11. Now on display at the World Scout Bureau in Malaysia, it offers a quiet reminder that humanity's greatest leaps have often begun with a Scout's first steps.

Read more on Scouting America’s website