NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) have announced the four astronauts who will be on board Artemis II, the first manned mission on NASA’s path to establish a long-term presence on the Moon for scientific research and exploration. The agencies revealed the names of the crew members during an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Monday.
The Crew Members
Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist 1 Christina Hammock Koch, and Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen have been selected for the mission. They will work as a team to execute an ambitious set of demonstrations during the flight test. Wiseman has been to space before as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station, Glover was a pilot on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission, Koch set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman and participated in the first all-female spacewalks, while Hansen, a colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces, is making his first flight to space.
“We are going back to the Moon and Canada is at the center of this exciting journey,” said the Honorable François-Philippe Champagne, the minister responsible for the Canadian Space Agency. “Thanks to our longstanding collaboration with NASA, a Canadian astronaut will fly on this historic mission. On behalf of all Canadians, I want to congratulate Jeremy for being at the forefront of one of the most ambitious human endeavors ever undertaken.
Artemis II mission
The approximately 10-day Artemis II flight test will launch on the agency’s powerful Space Launch System rocket, proving the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems, and validating the capabilities and techniques needed for humans to live and work in deep space. This is a significant milestone for the Artemis program, which seeks to establish a long-term presence on the Moon and eventually Mars.
The Artemis II mission will pave the way for future manned missions to the Moon, with the ultimate goal of sending the first humans to Mars.
“I could not be prouder that these brave four will kickstart our journeys to the Moon and beyond,” said Director of Flight Operations Norm Knight, NASA Johnson.
