NASA Names First Moon Mission Astronauts

HOUSTON — Christina Hammock Koch will be the first woman and Victor Glover the first African American to venture around the moon, NASA announced on Monday, as it revealed the four-person flight crew for the upcoming lunar orbital flight of the Artemis II spacecraft.

In another first, the first Canadian Space Agency astronaut, Jeremy Hansen, will also be among the lunar crew members, a team rounded out by NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman.

“The Artemis II crew represents thousands of people working tirelessly to bring us to the stars. This is their crew, this is our crew, this is humanity’s crew,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson during an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“Together, we are ushering in a new era of exploration for a new generation of star sailors and dreamers — the Artemis Generation,” he said.

President Joe Biden called to congratulate the astronauts on their appointment on Sunday, thanking them for their service and for inspiring countless people around the United States and the world. He also spoke to the children of the astronauts. 

Though the 10-day flight test won’t launch until November 2024 at the earliest, excitement is already building around the mission, which will be the human race’s closest encounter with the moon since the last Apollo mission in the early 1970s, and which will pave the way to establishing a long-term presence on the lunar surface for science and exploration.

Wiseman will serve as the crew commander. He previously served as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station during a mission that stretched from May through November of 2014. 

Glover, who will be the Artemis II’s pilot, was previously the pilot on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1, which landed May 2, 2021, after 168 days in space.

Koch, a mission specialist this time around, is also making her second flight into space on the Artemis II mission. 

She previously served as flight engineer aboard the space station for Expeditions 59, 60 and 61, setting a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman with a total of 328 days in space. She also participated in the first all-female spacewalks.

Hansen, the flight’s other mission specialist, is making his first flight into space.

A colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and former fighter pilot, Hansen holds a bachelor’s degree in space science and a master’s degree in physics from Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario.

During their trip to the moon and back, a journey that will begin atop NASA’s new, powerful Space Launch System rocket, the crew will “prove” the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems and validate the capabilities and techniques needed for humans to live and work in deep space, a prerequisite to travel to Mars and beyond. 

François-Philippe Champagne, the Canadian minister responsible for his nation’s space agency, said, “Canada’s participation in the Artemis program is not only a defining chapter of our history in space, but also a testament to the friendship and close partnership between our two nations.” 

NASA Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche said the crew, whose work will build upon the successful unmanned Artemis I mission completed in December, “will represent the best of humanity as they explore for the benefit of all.” 

“This mission paves the way for the expansion of human deep space exploration and presents new opportunities for scientific discoveries, commercial, industry and academic partnerships,” she said.

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