4 Astronauts Named by NASA for Artemis-II Moon Mission

Guwahati: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Monday revealed the names of four astronauts including a woman and a person of colour, who will be the first humans to return to the moon after 50 years after the end of the Apollo missions.

The Artemis-II mission, scheduled to launch from the United States of America in 2024 will send the named astronauts around the Moon.

The following are the four astronauts:

A US Navy pilot Reid Wiseman who served for a time as the head of NASA’s astronaut office.

A US Navy test pilot Victor Glover. He joined NASA in 2012 and made his first spaceflight in 2020. He is the first person of colour who will join the astronauts on the moon mission.

An electrical engineer Christina Koch holding the record for the longest continuous time in space by a woman, of 328 days. She will be the first woman NASA picked for the moon mission.

A former Canadian fighter pilot Jeremy Hansen who is yet to fly in space.

NASA administrator Bill Nelson was quoted by BBC saying, “The Artemis-II crew represents thousands of people working tirelessly to bring us to the stars. This is their new crew, this is humanity’s crew.”

“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,” he added.

It should be noted that this will be the first moon mission for humans in 50 years.

Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan left his footprints on the Moon in 1972, marking the final human visit to the lunar surface.