NASA has selected its first crewed mission to the moon in over 50 years, with four astronauts set to embark on a historic journey aboard the Orion spacecraft. The team will include Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, each bringing unique qualifications and experiences to the table.
Commander Wiseman, a decorated naval aviator and test pilot, will lead the mission as a veteran of one previous spaceflight. A 47-year-old native of Baltimore, Maryland, Wiseman was selected by NASA in 2009 and served as chief of the astronaut office before stepping down in November 2022.
Glover, a 46-year-old naval aviator, will join Wiseman on the mission after completing a six-month stay on the International Space Station with SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. A native of Pomona, California, Glover holds over 3,000 flight hours and has participated in numerous military squadrons in the US and Japan.
Christina Koch, a 44-year-old veteran of six spacewalks, including the first all-female spacewalk in 2019, will be part of the mission. An electrical engineer by training, Koch holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, spending nearly 328 days in space. A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Koch spent a year at the South Pole, preparing her for the intensity of a moon mission.
Jeremy Hansen, a 47-year-old fighter pilot from Canada, will be the first Canadian to travel to deep space. Selected by NASA in 2009, Hansen is one of only four active Canadian astronauts and has recently become the first Canadian to lead training for a new class of NASA astronauts.
The Artemis II mission is expected to take off around November 2024 and will last about 10 days, sending the crew out beyond the moon. The exact distance traveled will depend on the day of liftoff and the relative distance of the Moon from Earth at the time of the mission. After circling the moon, the spacecraft will return to Earth for a splashdown landing in the Pacific Ocean.
The mission marks the first time humans have touched down on the moon since the Apollo program ended in 1972 and is expected to pave the way for the Artemis III mission later this decade, which NASA vows will put the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface. The Artemis program aims to establish a permanent lunar outpost, allowing astronauts to live and work deeper into space long-term as NASA maps a path to sending humans to Mars.
The selection process for the crew was shrouded in secrecy, with only Vanessa Wyche, the director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, providing details about the diversity of the team. Koch revealed that she and two other astronauts were summoned to a meeting under false pretenses before being offered the mission.
The four astronauts will be featured on CNN This Morning next week, providing an exclusive look at their journey to the moon.
Commander Wiseman, a decorated naval aviator and test pilot, will lead the mission as a veteran of one previous spaceflight. A 47-year-old native of Baltimore, Maryland, Wiseman was selected by NASA in 2009 and served as chief of the astronaut office before stepping down in November 2022.
Glover, a 46-year-old naval aviator, will join Wiseman on the mission after completing a six-month stay on the International Space Station with SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. A native of Pomona, California, Glover holds over 3,000 flight hours and has participated in numerous military squadrons in the US and Japan.
Christina Koch, a 44-year-old veteran of six spacewalks, including the first all-female spacewalk in 2019, will be part of the mission. An electrical engineer by training, Koch holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, spending nearly 328 days in space. A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Koch spent a year at the South Pole, preparing her for the intensity of a moon mission.
Jeremy Hansen, a 47-year-old fighter pilot from Canada, will be the first Canadian to travel to deep space. Selected by NASA in 2009, Hansen is one of only four active Canadian astronauts and has recently become the first Canadian to lead training for a new class of NASA astronauts.
The Artemis II mission is expected to take off around November 2024 and will last about 10 days, sending the crew out beyond the moon. The exact distance traveled will depend on the day of liftoff and the relative distance of the Moon from Earth at the time of the mission. After circling the moon, the spacecraft will return to Earth for a splashdown landing in the Pacific Ocean.
The mission marks the first time humans have touched down on the moon since the Apollo program ended in 1972 and is expected to pave the way for the Artemis III mission later this decade, which NASA vows will put the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface. The Artemis program aims to establish a permanent lunar outpost, allowing astronauts to live and work deeper into space long-term as NASA maps a path to sending humans to Mars.
The selection process for the crew was shrouded in secrecy, with only Vanessa Wyche, the director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, providing details about the diversity of the team. Koch revealed that she and two other astronauts were summoned to a meeting under false pretenses before being offered the mission.
The four astronauts will be featured on CNN This Morning next week, providing an exclusive look at their journey to the moon.
i'm hyped for this mission, especially with a diverse crew like that, it's gonna be awesome to see jeremy hansen break barriers as a canadian astronaut 
u know what's even more exciting though? the fact that nasa is setting up a permanent lunar outpost, imagine having humans live and work on the moon for months or years 
that's some next level space exploration right there... Artemis III better come true soon!
. Anyway, back to space, I wonder what it's like being in space for that long without any decent wifi 
Imagine us finally going back to the moon after 50 yrs 
. Four awesome people coming together for one mission: Victor Glover from Cali 
, Christina Koch from Michigan 
(she's a spacewalk queen!), Jeremy Hansen from Canada 
(he's gonna smash that first deep space trip), and Reid Wiseman again 
what's up with NASA choosing 4 different types of pilots for this crew lol? like we got a test pilot (Wiseman), naval aviators (Glover & Hansen) and a rocket scientist (Koch). seems like they wanted to cover all bases... or should i say, all launch pads? 
