Topline
NASA’s Artemis 2 “lunar fly-by” mission will include three U.S. astronauts and a Canadian astronaut—the first four people to circle the moon in nearly half a century—the agency announced Monday morning, as it prepares for an ambitious plan to put humans back on the moon, and potentially Mars.
NASA announced the four astronauts who will circle the moon as part of its Artemis 2 mission.
Key Facts
The mission will include U.S. astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced in a joint press conference with the Canadian Space Agency at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The Artemis 2 launch, part of the agency’s momentous Artemis missions to “establish the first long-term presence” on the moon and eventually send astronauts to Mars, is scheduled to take off in November 2024 at the earliest, according to NASA.
The 10-day voyage on an Orion spacecraft to the moon’s orbit will provide scientific data in preparation for NASA’s Artemis 3 mission, which is slated to take astronauts to the moon’s surface for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.
Tangent
NASA had pledged to make its Artemis missions more representative, including the first woman and person of color to land on the moon. The pledge is part of a larger initiative to diversify the agency’s missions. NASA also announced in October it would send the first Native American woman into Earth’s orbit, sending Nicole Mann, a member of the Wailacki people, to the International Space Station. The selection pool for the Artemis 2 crew included 41 U.S. astronauts and four more from Canada.
Key Background
NASA launched its Artemis 1 mission—an uncrewed Orion spacecraft on a 25-day journey to the moon and back—in November, two months after it started its launchdown clock. Multiple botched launches, involving a fuel leak, technical glitches and a hurricane, had pushed back the launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to the agency, the $90 billion-plus missions will provide “scientific discovery, economic benefits and inspiration” for a new age of space exploration, and will test its “deep space exploration capabilities.”
What We Don’t Know
When astronauts will land on the moon. NASA in 2019 had set the goal of putting humans on the moon in 2024, though its initial plans were stalled due to funding. The agency now plans Artemis 3 to launch in 2025, though a specific date has not been determined.
Further Reading
NASA’s Headed Back To The Moon And Here Are Innovators That Will Help It Get There (Forbes)
NASA Starts Countdown To Historic Artemis Launch (Forbes)
Watch NASA reveal its Artemis 2 moon crew live online today (Space)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/04/03/artemis-mission-nasa-announces-first-four-people-to-circle-moon-in-half-century/