NASA's first moon crew in 50 years including woman, Black astronaut
Technology
NASA’s first moon crew in 50 years including woman, Black astronaut
WASINGTON (AP) - NASA on Monday named the four astronauts who will fly around the moon late next year, including the first woman and the first African American assigned to a lunar mission.
The first moon crew in 50 years — three Americans and one Canadian — was introduced during a ceremony in Houston, home to the nation’s astronauts as well as Mission Control.
“This is humanity’s crew,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
The four astronauts will be the first to fly NASA’s Orion capsule, launching atop a Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center in late 2024. They will not land or even go into lunar orbit, but rather fly around the moon and head straight back to Earth.
The mission’s commander, Reid Wiseman, will be joined by Victor Glover, an African American naval aviator; Christina Koch, who holds the world record for the longest spaceflight by a woman; and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen, a former fighter pilot and the crew’s lone space rookie. Wiseman, Glover and Koch have all lived on the International Space Station. All four are in their 40s.
“This is a big day. We have a lot to celebrate and it’s so much more than the four names that have been announced,” Glover said.
This is the first moon crew to include someone from outside the U.S. — and the first crew in NASA’s new moon program named Artemis after the twin sister of mythology’s Apollo. Late last year, an empty Orion capsule flew to the moon and back in a long-awaited dress rehearsal.
