NASA Reveals Astronaut Crew For Historic Artemis II Moon Mission

NASA has revealed the crew for its upcoming Artemis II mission, which will mark the first time in our species’ history that an astronaut of color, and a female astronaut have ventured beyond low-Earth orbit to visit lunar space.

It has been over 50 years since the crew of Apollo 17 bade farewell to Earth’s moon. Since that final mission of the Apollo program, humanity has retreated back to our homeworld, allowing robotic pioneers to explore the wonders of the solar system as we watched on from the comparative safety of low-Earth orbit.

But the coming decades could see a dramatic shift in the status quo. NASA and its partners have decided that it is once again time for humanity to walk upon the surface of the Moon, and to establish a permanent presence to test the technologies that will be needed for a future crewed mission to Mars. 

Artemis II: Meet The Crew. 

Earlier this week, NASA revealed the four person astronaut crew who will take humanity’s next steps in solar system exploration when the 10-day Artemis II mission launches to lunar space in late 2024.

The mission will be led by Commander Reid Wiseman, who joined NASA’s 20th astronaut class in 2009 after serving as a combat and test pilot for the U.S. Air Force. Wiseman has since completed a 165 day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), during which he served as Expedition 41’s flight engineer, clocking up almost 13 hours worth of spacewalks.

Victor J. Glover, Jr. meanwhile has been given the task of piloting NASA’s Orion capsule. Glover accumulated over 3,000 hours of flight time over the course of his military career, during which he served as both a combat, and test pilot, while completing a Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering. As a NASA astronaut Glover was present for the second operational flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, and has served a tour of duty aboard the ISS as part of Expedition 64.

Christina Hammock Koch will take the third seat in the Orion capsule, serving as Mission Specialist 1 to the Artemis II mission. Koch worked in remote fieldwork and space science instrument development during her early career, creating instruments for the Juno and the Van Allen probes before completing her astronaut training in 2015. Koch has since flown aboard a Russian-made Soyuz spacecraft and spent 328 days aboard the ISS. She holds the record for the longest single spaceflight for a woman, and participated in the first all-female spacewalk.

Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will serve as Mission Specialist 2 during the Artemis II mission. Hansen was a fighter pilot prior to completing astronaut training in 2011, after which he served in NASA’s Mission Control Center as capcom supporting missions. This will be Hansen’s first trip to space.

Whilst the crew of Artemis II won’t have the honour of actually setting foot on the Moon, they will nonetheless achieve a number of historic firsts for the human race. First and foremost it will see the first astronaut of colour, Victor Glover, and the first female astronaut, Christina Hammock Koch, travel beyond low-Earth orbit to visit lunar space. 

Artemis II will also be the first crewed mission to make use of both the Orion capsule, and NASA’s colossal Space Launch System (SLS) Moon rocket. The 10-day outing will be used to test the capabilities of the Orion capsule and it’s European-made service module ahead of the Artemis III mission, which will finally return humans to the surface of Earth’s moon.

“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 in a statement posted on the agency’s website. 

“NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen, each has their own story, but, together, they represent our creed: E pluribus unum – out of many, one. Together, we are ushering in a new era of exploration for a new generation of star sailors and dreamers – the Artemis Generation.” 

NASA recently unveiled the a prototype of the next generation spacesuit that will be used by astronauts walking the lunar surface during the planned Artemis III mission. Be sure to stick with IGN to stay up to date with all of the biggest news in the world of science.

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer