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It is the first time that NASA has assigned an African-American and a woman to a lunar mission. There are a total of four astronauts who will make the first manned trip around the moon in more than 50 years, in the well-known Artemis II mission. The return to the Moon will take place in November 2024.
After half a century, the human being will return to the Moon. The Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Hammock Koch and the Canadian Jeremy Hansen, were presented to the international press from the NASA center in Houston, Texas, as the official crew of Artemis II, a 10-day mission that has object to reach the Earth’s satellite but without landing on the moon.
The previous mission, Artemis I, was successfully completed in December 2022, when a powerful next-generation megarocket was launched, along with its Orion spacecraft, in a 25-day uncrewed test flight.
Regarding the next lunar expedition, the three American citizens that make it up have already flown into space before, but it will be the first time for Canadian Jeremy Hansen, who is going as a mission specialist for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). ). Reid Wiseman will be the commander, Victor Glover will be the pilot and the only woman on board, Christina Hammock, will also be a mission specialist.
“The Artemis II crew represents thousands of people who work tirelessly to take us to the stars. This is the crew of humanity“, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said from the stage as US President Joe Biden congratulated the four astronauts via phone call on Sunday, April 2.
The @POT Artemis II crewed mission around the Moon will inspire the next generation of explorers, and show every child – in America, in Canada, and across the world – that if they can dream it, they can be it. pic.twitter.com/X8q3GLTBiQ
—President Biden (@POTUS) April 3, 2023
The four people who will go down in history
The Canadian citizen chosen for the Artemis II mission is the only newcomer to space flight, as the three astronauts proposed by NASA are veterans of previous expeditions aboard the International Space Station.
44-year-old engineer Christina Koch holds a record for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman in history and was part of NASA’s first three female spacewalks.
Victor Glover, 46, a former US Navy aviator and veteran of four spacewalks, will be the first black astronaut on a NASA lunar mission.
Reid Wiseman, 47, and who will be the mission commander, is another former US Navy fighter pilot; while the Canadian Jeremy Hansen is a Colonel in the Air Force of his country.
Wiseman, was until recently head of the astronaut office, a position that has been held since the beginning of the organization, in charge of the composition of the work team. Before leaving his post, he said he was looking above all for technical expertise and “team spirit in the lucky selected winners.”
In total there were 41 active astronauts officially eligible to be part of Artemis II, but the selection process was kept behind closed doors. Those not chosen may still have their sights set on Artemis III, the first mission to land on the Moon which is scheduled to take place in late 2025. Options for them also include a possible trip to Mars in 2040.
To the moon and beyond
The US space agency has mentioned in the past its intention to sign the return of humans to Earth’s natural satellite by building a base on the surface of the Moon and a space station in orbit around it. Their grand ultimate goal is to establish a sustainable outpost as a springboard for future human exploration of Mars.
The four astronauts will travel on NASA’s SLS rocket, which, while the most powerful in the world today, has only been used once, during the Artemis I mission.
Artemis II will travel some 10,300 kilometers, beyond the far side of the Moon, before heading back to Earth, which is the closest trip humans have made to the satellite since Apollo 17, which carried Gene Cernan and Harrison. Schmitt to the lunar surface in December 1972, a mission in which 12 white male astronauts participated, and in which they had the opportunity to walk on it. A milestone that can be extrapolated to six Apollo missions, beginning in 1969 with Neil Armstrong and Edwin “buzz“ Aldrin.
With Reuters and local media
