NASA has selected four astronauts for the first crewed mission to the moon in over five decades. The quartet, comprising Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, will embark on a historic journey aboard the Orion spacecraft, which is set to launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as early as November 2024.
Wiseman, a decorated naval aviator and test pilot, will serve as commander of the Artemis II mission. A veteran of one prior spaceflight, he has completed a six-month stay on the International Space Station and was chief of the astronaut office before stepping down in November 2022.
Hansen, also a fighter pilot, is one of only four active Canadian astronauts and recently became the first Canadian to be put in charge of training for a new class of NASA astronauts. He will become the first Canadian to travel to deep space on this mission.
Glover, a 46-year-old naval aviator who returned to Earth from his first spaceflight in 2021 after piloting the second crewed flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft and spending nearly six months aboard the International Space Station, hailed the selection as "a moment in human history." He will join forces with Wiseman and Hansen on this mission.
Koch, a veteran of six spacewalks, including the first all-female spacewalk in 2019, holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. An electrical engineer who helped develop scientific instruments for multiple NASA missions, she spent a year at the South Pole, an experience that may well prepare her for the intensity of a moon mission.
The Artemis II mission will build on the success of the uncrewed test mission, Artemis I, which sent NASA's Orion capsule on a 1.4 million-mile voyage to lap the moon in December. The space agency is now working to review all the data collected from the previous mission.
If all goes to plan, the crew will embark on a journey that lasts about 10 days and send them out beyond the moon, potentially further than any human has traveled in history. The exact distance beyond the Moon will depend on the day of liftoff and the relative distance of the Moon from Earth at the time of the mission.
The Artemis II mission is expected to pave the way for the Artemis III mission later this decade, which NASA vows will put the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface. This historic mission also marks the first time humans have touched down on the moon since the Apollo program ended in 1972.
While details about the selection process were not made available, Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, emphasized the diversity of the Artemis II crew, which includes men and women rather than only a staff of White male test pilots as has been the case for historic missions of the past. "We have requirements different than we did (when) just had test pilots," she said.
The four astronauts will soon appear on CNN's "This Morning" to discuss their journey, which is set to take off later this year.
Wiseman, a decorated naval aviator and test pilot, will serve as commander of the Artemis II mission. A veteran of one prior spaceflight, he has completed a six-month stay on the International Space Station and was chief of the astronaut office before stepping down in November 2022.
Hansen, also a fighter pilot, is one of only four active Canadian astronauts and recently became the first Canadian to be put in charge of training for a new class of NASA astronauts. He will become the first Canadian to travel to deep space on this mission.
Glover, a 46-year-old naval aviator who returned to Earth from his first spaceflight in 2021 after piloting the second crewed flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft and spending nearly six months aboard the International Space Station, hailed the selection as "a moment in human history." He will join forces with Wiseman and Hansen on this mission.
Koch, a veteran of six spacewalks, including the first all-female spacewalk in 2019, holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. An electrical engineer who helped develop scientific instruments for multiple NASA missions, she spent a year at the South Pole, an experience that may well prepare her for the intensity of a moon mission.
The Artemis II mission will build on the success of the uncrewed test mission, Artemis I, which sent NASA's Orion capsule on a 1.4 million-mile voyage to lap the moon in December. The space agency is now working to review all the data collected from the previous mission.
If all goes to plan, the crew will embark on a journey that lasts about 10 days and send them out beyond the moon, potentially further than any human has traveled in history. The exact distance beyond the Moon will depend on the day of liftoff and the relative distance of the Moon from Earth at the time of the mission.
The Artemis II mission is expected to pave the way for the Artemis III mission later this decade, which NASA vows will put the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface. This historic mission also marks the first time humans have touched down on the moon since the Apollo program ended in 1972.
While details about the selection process were not made available, Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, emphasized the diversity of the Artemis II crew, which includes men and women rather than only a staff of White male test pilots as has been the case for historic missions of the past. "We have requirements different than we did (when) just had test pilots," she said.
The four astronauts will soon appear on CNN's "This Morning" to discuss their journey, which is set to take off later this year.
! its been way too long since we had humans on our lunar neighbor...the fact that they got a diverse crew is a major plus btw 
, we gotta have more people from different backgrounds up there. and victor glover is gonna be the first canadian to go to deep space 
i'm hyped for him! christina koch is also super cool as she's like an astronaut superhero 
...but what im most excited about is that this is just the start of something bigger 
, we should have a human settlement on the moon by 2050 at least 
christina koch's record for longest single spaceflight by a woman is insane too - 1 year at the south pole? that's dedication 
and it's awesome to see nasa prioritizing diversity on this mission, with men and women of different backgrounds joining forces 
. i'm really hyped for this Artemis II mission and what it might achieve in terms of pushing human spaceflight forward ⚀️
.
. Bring it on!
. Reid Wiseman as commander? Impressive! And Jeremy Hansen, a Canadian astronaut, will be the first one from his country to go to deep space 
. I'm also loving that there's diversity in this crew 
. These four astronauts are setting themselves up for success by training together, supporting each other's strengths & weaknesses, it's all about building that team culture 
, and not just from a Western perspective. The more people from different backgrounds are involved in space exploration, the better equipped they'll be to tackle complex problems & make decisions for the greater good 
, and what we're hoping to achieve is still mind-boggling. They'll be expanding our understanding of the universe & testing equipment that could potentially benefit us on Earth 
, it's about equal opportunities and representation 
. And Jeremy Hansen is going to be the first Canadian to travel to deep space, which is just awesome 
. And don't even get me started on the whole "diversity" thing – yeah, yeah, we've got women and people of color now, but what about people from different countries, or those who are actually struggling to make ends meet?