NASA named the first woman and the first African American ever assigned as astronauts to a lunar mission, introducing them as part of the four-member team chosen to fly on what would be the first crewed voyage around the moon in more than 50 years.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 at the event.
Source:- The Mirror
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 u2013 out of many, one, he added. Together, we are ushering in a new era of exploration for a new generation of star sailors and dreamers u2013 the Artemis Generation, the NASA Administrator said.
Christina Koch
Christina Koch, an electrical engineer, who has been part of NASA’s first three all-female spacewalks, was named as a mission specialist for the Artemis II lunar flyby expected as early as next year. She has served as a flight engineer aboard the space station for Expedition 59, 60, and 61. Koch has also set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman with a total of 328 days in space.
Victor Glover
Victor Glover, a US Navy aviator, and veteran of four spacewalks, has been designated as pilot of Artemis II. He will be the first Black astronaut ever to be sent on a lunar mission. The mission will be his second spaceflight, serving previously as a pilot on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1, which landed on May 2, 2021, after 168 days in space.
As a flight engineer aboard the space station for Expedition 64, Glover contributed to scientific investigations, technology demonstrations, and participated in four spacewalks. According to NASA, he has logged 3,000 flight hours in more than 40 different aircraft.
Reid Wiseman
Reid Wiseman, another former US Navy fighter pilot, has been named as mission commander. This will be his second trip into space, serving previously as a flight engineer aboard the International Station for Expedition 41 from May through November 2014.
Wiseman has logged more than 165 days in space, including almost 13 hours as lead spacewalker during two trips outside the orbital complex. Prior to his assignment, he served as chief of the Astronaut Office from December 2020 until November 2022.
Source: One India News
Jeremy Hansen
The Artemis II Mission crew also includes Jeremy Hansen, the first Canadian ever chosen for a flight to the moon, as a mission specialist. A colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and former fighter pilot, he holds a Bachelor of Science in space science from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, and a Master of Science in physics from the same institution in 2000, with a research focus on Wide Field of View Satellite Tracking.
He was one of two recruits selected by CSA in May 2009 through the third Canadian Astronaut Recruitment Campaign and has served as Capcom in NASA’s Mission Control Center at Johnson and, in 2017, became the first Canadian to be entrusted with leading a NASA astronaut class, leading the training of astronaut candidates from the United States and Canada.
US President Joe Biden privately called the four on Sunday to congratulate them, the White House said. The NASA Artemis II crewed mission around the Moon will inspire the next generation of explorers, and show every child u2013 in America, in Canada, and across the world u2013 that if they can dream it, they can be it, Biden said.
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