BATON ROUGE - Southern University alumni played a role in the launch of the Artemis II rocket that launched April 1. It is the first crewed mission to the moon system in more than 50 years.

While the rocket launched from the NASA center in Florida, that didn't stop those with ties to Baton Rouge's HBCU from playing a role in the launch.

"Being able to share that with students, being able to share that with the community that Southern University's reach is so far and that our students are making an impact on the future of STEM is very important for us," Associate Dean for Students Affairs Francesca Mellieon-Williams said.

This is not the first time Southern has played a role in a space mission. According to Dean Lealon Martin, the dean of Southern's College of Science and Engineering, the university performed 80 percent of the wiring for Artemis I.

The university has a strong pipeline to NASA and Boeing. Students can see how their classroom work connects to real-world projects.

"So that connection has been there, and it will continue," she said.

"It provides the students with that something they can actually touch and connect, say, oh, wait, this actually connects to this. So they know that the work that they're doing in their classes, the research that they're participating in with faculty, it actually has a bigger impact than what they realize," she said.

The Artemis II is scheduled to return next Friday.