Florida - Tuesday April 4, 2023: NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) have jointly announced the four astronauts who will venture around the Moon on the Artemis II mission. It will be the first crewed moon mission in five decades. It is tentatively set for November 2024.
The agencies announced the crew members Monday during an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. They are NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.
“Each has their own story, but, together, they represent our creed: E pluribus unum – out of many, one," 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.”
The approximately 10-day Artemis II flight will not land or even orbit the moon. They flight will take the four astronauts around the moon and back to earth. They will take off on NASA's powerful Space Launch System rocket, prove the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems, and validate the capabilities and techniques needed for humans to live and work in deep space.
Reid Wiseman has been assigned Commander of NASA's Artemis II mission. The 47-year-old is a Baltimore native who earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University. He served as Flight Engineer aboard the International Space Station for Expedition 41 from May through November of 2014. This was Wiseman’s first spaceflight, which also included almost 13 hours of spacewalking.
Pilot Victor Glover, is a native of Pomona California. The 46-year-old holds a Bachelor of Science in General Engineering, a Master of Science in Flight Test Engineering, a Master of Science in Systems Engineering and a Master of Military Operational Art and Science. Glover is a Naval Aviator and was a test pilot in the F/A‐18 Hornet, Super Hornet and EA‐18G Growler. He most recently served as pilot and second-in-command on the Crew-1 SpaceX Crew Dragon, named Resilience, which landed May 2, 2021.
44-year-old Mission Specialist Christina Hammock Koch is a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She attended North Carolina State University in Raleigh where she earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering and Physics and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. She served as flight engineer on the International Space Station (ISS) for Expedition 59, 60 and 61. She holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman with a total of 328 days in space and participated in the first all-female spacewalks.
Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen is a fighter pilot who was selected by the Canadian Space Agency for astronaut training in 2009. The 47 year old is from London, Ontario. A colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and former fighter pilot, Hansen holds a Bachelor of Science in space science from 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 is one of only four active Canadian astronauts, He will be the first Canadian ever to travel to deep space.
“We are going back to the Moon and Canada is at the center of this exciting journey,” said the Honorable François-Philippe Champagne, the minister responsible for the Canadian Space Agency. “Thanks to our longstanding collaboration with NASA, a Canadian astronaut will fly on this historic mission. On behalf of all Canadians, I want to congratulate Jeremy for being at the forefront of one of the most ambitious human endeavors ever undertaken. Canada’s participation in the Artemis program is not only a defining chapter of our history in space, but also a testament to the friendship and close partnership between our two nations.”
The flight will build upon the successful uncrewed Artemis I mission completed in December 2022. The crew includes the first woman, the first Canadian, and first person of color, and all four will pave the way for future for long-term human exploration missions to the Moon, and eventually Mars.
“For the first time in more than 50 years, these individuals – the Artemis II crew – will be the first humans to fly to the vicinity of the Moon,” said Director Vanessa Wyche, NASA Johnson. “This mission paves the way for the expansion of human deep space exploration and presents new opportunities for scientific discoveries, commercial, industry and academic partnerships and the Artemis Generation.”
Through Artemis missions, NASA will use innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. We will collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. Then, we will use what we learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars.