The United States government agency, NASA, has named the four astronauts who will help humanity return to the moon after 50 years, writes BBC.
Christina Koch will be the first woman and Victor Glover the first black astronaut to participate in the moon mission.
They will be joined by Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen to fly around the Moon next year. The astronauts do not land on the moon, but their mission paves the way for a subsequent crew to land on the moon.
The three American and Canadian citizens were introduced to the public at a ceremony in Houston, Texas. They then undergo extensive training to prepare them for the task ahead.
By choosing both a woman and a black astronaut, NASA is delivering on its promise to make the exploration team more diverse.
What do you want to know about them?
Reed Wiseman (47 years old): a US Navy pilot who was for a time the head of the Astronaut Office at NASA. He previously participated in a space flight in 2015 to the International Space Station.
Victor Glover (46 years old): test pilot for the US Navy. He joined NASA in 2013 and made his first spaceflight in 2020. He was the first black man to stay on the space station for an extended period of time, six months to be exact.
Christina Koch (44 years old): electrical engineer. She spent 328 consecutive days in space, setting a record for women, along with NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, who participated in the first all-female spacewalk in October 2019.
Jeremy Hanson (47 years): Before joining the Canadian Space Agency, he was a fighter pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He hasn’t flown into space yet.
The Artemis-2 crew represents the thousands of people who work tirelessly to reach for the stars. This is their crew, this is our crew, this is humanity’s crew
said Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator.
Wiseman would be the commander, Glover the pilot, and Koch and Hansen would be the support “Mission Specialists”. The quartet essentially repeats the 1968 Apollo 8 mission, the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. The main difference this time by NASA Artemis The 21st century technology developed under the program will be used. In Greek mythology, Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo.
