3 U.S. Astronauts, 1 Canadian Astronaut To Venture Around Moon On Artemis II
NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) have announced the four astronauts – three Americans and a Canadian – who will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed mission to establish a long-term presence on the Moon for science and exploration through Artemis.
Revealing the crew members Monday during an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “The Artemis II crew represents thousands of people working tirelessly to bring us to the stars. Together, we are ushering in a new era of exploration for a new generation of star sailors and dreamers – the Artemis Generation.”
The Artemis II crew will be the first humans to fly to the vicinity of the Moon in more than 50 years. Among the crew are the first woman, first person of color, and first Canadian on a lunar mission.
Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch are NASA astronauts, while Jeremy Hansen represents the CSA.
47-year-old Wiseman will be the Commander of the mission. Glover will be the Pilot. Koch and Jeremy Hansen are Mission Specialists. They will work as a team to execute an ambitious set of demonstrations during the flight test.
This will be Wiseman’s second trip into space, serving previously as a flight engineer aboard the International Station for Expedition 41 in 2014. Wiseman has logged more than 165 days in space, including almost 13 hours as lead spacewalker during two trips outside the orbital complex. Prior to his assignment, Wiseman served as chief of the Astronaut Office from December 2020 until November 2022.
The mission will be 46-year-old Glover’s second spaceflight, serving previously as pilot on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1. As a flight engineer aboard the space station for Expedition 64, he contributed to scientific investigations, technology demonstrations, and participated in four spacewalks.
Koch, 44, also will be making her second flight into space. She served as flight engineer aboard the space station for Expedition 59, 60, and 61. Koch set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman with a total of 328 days in space and participated in the first all-female spacewalks.
Representing Canada, Hansen, 47, is making his first flight to space. A colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and former fighter pilot, Hansen in 2017 became the first Canadian to be entrusted with leading a NASA astronaut class, leading the training of astronaut candidates from the United States and Canada.
The approximately 10-day Artemis II flight test will take off on the U.S space agency’s powerful Space Launch System rocket in November 2024.
The quartet will begin training for the historic Artemis II lunar flyby that aims to prove the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems, and validate the capabilities and techniques needed for humans to live and work in deep space.
The flight, set to build upon the successful uncrewed Artemis I mission completed in December, will pave the way for future long-term human exploration missions to the Moon, and eventually Mars.
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