NASA has finally chosen its crew for the historic first crewed mission to the moon in over five decades. The four astronauts selected are Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.
Wiseman, a 47-year-old decorated naval aviator and test pilot from Baltimore, Maryland, will serve as commander of the Artemis II mission. He was first selected to be a NASA astronaut in 2009 and has completed one previous spaceflight on a Russian Soyuz rocket. Wiseman stepped down as chief of the astronaut office last November.
Glover, also 47 years old, is a naval aviator who returned 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.
Koch, 44, is a veteran of six spacewalks and holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. She has also spent time at the South Pole and developed scientific instruments for multiple NASA missions.
Hansen, a fighter pilot from London, Ontario, is one of only four active Canadian astronauts and will be the first Canadian to travel to deep space.
The Artemis II mission is set to launch in November 2024 atop a NASA-developed Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew's journey will last about 10 days, sending them beyond the moon and potentially further than any human has traveled before.
This mission marks a significant step towards establishing a permanent lunar outpost and paving the way for humans to travel to Mars. NASA has been working on this program for over a decade.
The crew selection process was kept secret until now, but NASA officials emphasized the diversity of the Artemis II crew, which includes men and women from different backgrounds. The four astronauts will be interviewed live on "CNN This Morning" next Tuesday.
Their historic mission comes after an uncrewed test flight that successfully sent a NASA Orion capsule around the moon last year. While delays are expected for the follow-up mission, known as Artemis III, which aims to put the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface, this latest development marks a major milestone in space exploration.
Wiseman, a 47-year-old decorated naval aviator and test pilot from Baltimore, Maryland, will serve as commander of the Artemis II mission. He was first selected to be a NASA astronaut in 2009 and has completed one previous spaceflight on a Russian Soyuz rocket. Wiseman stepped down as chief of the astronaut office last November.
Glover, also 47 years old, is a naval aviator who returned 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.
Koch, 44, is a veteran of six spacewalks and holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. She has also spent time at the South Pole and developed scientific instruments for multiple NASA missions.
Hansen, a fighter pilot from London, Ontario, is one of only four active Canadian astronauts and will be the first Canadian to travel to deep space.
The Artemis II mission is set to launch in November 2024 atop a NASA-developed Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew's journey will last about 10 days, sending them beyond the moon and potentially further than any human has traveled before.
This mission marks a significant step towards establishing a permanent lunar outpost and paving the way for humans to travel to Mars. NASA has been working on this program for over a decade.
The crew selection process was kept secret until now, but NASA officials emphasized the diversity of the Artemis II crew, which includes men and women from different backgrounds. The four astronauts will be interviewed live on "CNN This Morning" next Tuesday.
Their historic mission comes after an uncrewed test flight that successfully sent a NASA Orion capsule around the moon last year. While delays are expected for the follow-up mission, known as Artemis III, which aims to put the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface, this latest development marks a major milestone in space exploration.
just heard about this new crew and I'm low-key hyped 
they're like literally gonna make history by being the first crew to go back to the moon in ages 
Reid Wiseman is my fave btw he's so experienced from his time as a naval aviator 
what do you guys think about NASA's Artemis II mission? 
And have you seen those Space Launch System rockets? So expensive! 
Like, how do they plan on making this whole lunar outpost thing sustainable if they can't even afford to launch a few rockets? 
It's like a dream come true for space nerds like me (and I'm sure millions of others 
Reid Wiseman & Victor Glover r like old men 
anyway i'm glad we got some diversity on dis crew. Christina Koch's spacewalk record is straight fire 
she's got 6 spacewalks under her belt which is crazy! 
Jeremy Hansen is also super inspiring as a Canadian astronaut trying to break barriers in space exploration 
Victor Glover's SpaceX experience is so cool too, I'm loving the diversity of this crew and the fact that they're pushing boundaries like never before 
can't wait to see them embark on their epic 10-day journey!
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and it's so much fun playing with friends online! The graphics are insane and it feels like we're actually walking around the real world catching 'em all 
. Oh wait, what was I saying about space missions again?