NASA names 18 Artemis astronauts

Paris, 10 December 2020. – NASA has selected 18 astronauts for its Artemis Moon missions, the agency said.

Vice President Mike Pence introduced the Artemis team during the eighth National Space Council meeting at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida yesterday.

The astronauts come from a diverse range of backgrounds, expertise, and experience, NASA said. The agency’s modern lunar exploration program intends to land the first woman and next man on the Moon in 2024 and establish a sustainable human lunar presence by the end of the decade.

NASA will announce flight assignments for astronauts later, pulling from the Artemis Team. Additional Artemis Team members, including international partner astronauts, will join this group, as needed, the agency said.

The Artemis astronauts are: Joseph Acaba, Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, Matthew Dominick, Victor Glover, Warren Hoburg, Jonny Kim, Christina Hammock Koch, Kjell Lindgren, Nicole A. Mann, Anne McClain, Jessica Meir, Jasmin Moghbeli, Kate Rubins, Frank Rubio, Scott Tingle, Jessica Watkins, and Stephanie Wilson.