NASA's Artemis 2 drew nearly 346,000 visitors to Space Coast
NASA's Artemis 2 moon mission just pulled in nearly 346,000 people to Florida's Space Coast, a massive jump from the Artemis 1 launch.
The week-long event, which ran March 29 to April 4, shows just how much excitement there is around space travel right now.
Artemis 2 trip generated $41 million locally
Artemis 2 wasn't just about the rocket: it sent astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canada's Jeremy Hansen on the first crewed trip beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
All those visitors didn't just watch history: they also spent an average of $462 each over two days, pumping about $41 million into the local economy.
For comparison, the tourism office tracked an average of 55,000 out-of-county visitors for nine other major launches, including Falcon Heavy liftoffs.