NASA Artemis Moon Crew

NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) have named the four astronauts who will go around the Moon on Artemis II. This is the first crewed mission on NASA's way to building a long-term presence on the Moon for science and exploration through Artemis. On Monday, the crew members were announced at an event at Ellington Field, which is close to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, which is part of NASA.

"The team of the Artemis II is made up of thousands of people who work hard to get us to the stars. "This is their crew, our crew, and humanity's crew," said Bill Nelson, who is in charge of running NASA. "NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen, each have their own story, but together they reflect our creed: E pluribus unum, which means "out of many, one." Together, we are bringing in a new era of exploration for a new crop of star sailors and dreamers—the Artemis crop."

Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist 1 Christina Hammock Koch, and Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen are the people who will be on the team. During the flight test, they will work as a team to pull off an ambitious set of demos.

The about 10-day Artemis II flight test will take off on NASA's powerful Space Launch System rocket. It will test the Orion spacecraft's life-support systems and confirm that people can live and work in deep space with the right skills and tools.

The minister in charge of the Canadian Space Agency, the Honorable Francois-Philippe Champagne, said, "We're going back to the Moon, and Canada is at the center of this exciting journey." "A Canadian astronaut will fly on this historic journey because we have worked with NASA for a long time. I want to thank Jeremy on behalf of all Canadians for being at the front of one of the most big projects ever started by people. Canada's involvement in the Artemis program is not only an important part of our space history, but it also shows how close and friendly our two countries are.

The flight will build on the successful unmanned Artemis I mission, which was finished in December. It will make it possible for the first woman and the first person of color to go to the Moon through the Artemis program. It will also pave the way for future long-term missions to the Moon and, eventually, Mars. This is how the government plans to explore the Moon and Mars.

"These people, the Artemis II team, will be the first humans to fly close to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. The crew includes the first woman, the first person of color, and the first Canadian to go on a mission to the moon. "All four astronauts will represent the best of humanity as they explore for the good of everyone," said NASA Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche. "This mission paves the way for more people to explore deep space, and it opens up new chances for scientific discoveries, partnerships between businesses, universities, and industries, and the Artemis Generation."

Meet Artemis II Astronauts

This will be Wiseman's second trip into space. From May to November 2014, he was a flight engineer on the International Space Station for Expedition 41. Wiseman has been in space for more than 165 days. During two trips outside the orbital complex, he spent almost 13 hours as the lead spacewalker. Wiseman was in charge of the Astronaut Office from December 2020 to November 2022 before he got his new job.

Glover will be going into space for the second time. He was the pilot on NASA's SpaceX Crew-1, which arrived on May 2, 2021, after being in space for 168 days. As a flight engineer for Expedition 64 on the space station, he helped with science research, showed off new technologies, and went on four spacewalks.

Koch will also be going into space for the second time on the Artemis II mission. She was the flight engineer for Expeditions 59, 60, and 61 on the space station. Koch spent a total of 328 days in space and set a record for the longest single journey by a woman. She also took part in the first spacewalks with only women.

Hansen is on his first trip to space, which he is taking for Canada. Hansen is a colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and a former fighter pilot. He has a Bachelor of Science in space science from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, and a Master of Science in physics from the same school, where his research focused on Wide Field of View Satellite Tracking. He was one of two recruits chosen by CSA in May 2009 as part of the third Canadian Astronaut Recruitment Campaign. He has worked as Capcom in NASA's Mission Control Center at Johnson, and in 2017 he became the first Canadian to be in charge of a NASA astronaut class, training candidates from both the US and Canada.

Director of Flight Operations at NASA Johnson, Norm Knight, said, "I couldn't be more proud that these four brave people will start our trips to the Moon and beyond." "They are the perfect example of what an astronaut corps should be: a group of smart, skilled, and determined people who can work together to face any challenge. The Artemis II mission will be hard, and we'll see how far we can go as we prepare to send people to the Moon in the future. With Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy in charge, I'm sure we can handle any problem that comes our way."

NASA will use new tools in Artemis missions to learn more about the moon's surface than ever before. We will work with commercial and foreign partners to make the Moon's first permanent home. Then, we'll use what we've learned on and around the Moon to take the next big step: sending the first humans to Mars.