NASA and CSA Name Astronauts to Next Artemis Mission

Ibadan, 4 March 2023. – NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) have announced the four astronauts who will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term presence on the Moon for science and exploration through Artemis. The agencies revealed the crew members Monday during an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The crew assignments are as follows: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist 1 Christina Hammock Koch, and Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen. They will work as a team to execute an ambitious set of demonstrations during the flight test. As a result, Mission Specialist Christina Hammock Koch will become the first woman to orbit the Moon, while Pilot Victor Glover will become the first person of color to achieve the same feat.

The approximately 10-day Artemis II flight test will launch on the agency’s powerful Space Launch System rocket, prove the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems, and validate the capabilities and techniques necessary for humans to live and work in deep space. The flight will pave the way for future long-term human exploration missions to the Moon and, eventually, Mars.

“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. Together, we are ushering in a new era of exploration for a new generation of star sailors and dreamers – the Artemis Generation.”