A Milestone in Space History: NASA Presented the Four Artemis II Astronauts

On April 3rd, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) revealed the four people who will lead the first manned trip around the moon in 50 years: the Artemis II mission. This mission will not only usher in a new era of space exploration, it will also be the first return trip to the moon to be crewed by a woman and an African-American man.

The specialist and engineer Christina Koch; pilot Victor Glover; mission commander Reid Wiseman and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen are chosen for this mission. “The Artemis II crew represents thousands of people who work tirelessly to take us to the stars. This is your crew, this is our crew, this is humanity's crew," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at the launch event.

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These four people have their own history and also have unique skills that will help them work as a team. In addition, they have the purpose of carrying out an ambitious set of demonstrations that certify NASA's technical and scientific capabilities so that humanity can live and work in deep space in the future.

The idea is that in November 2024, astronauts will spend most of the mission in an Orion capsule, which will detach from the rocket to circle the moon and then return to Earth. All with the aim of giving way to Artemis III, the mission that will be launched in 2025 and that intends to establish a lasting presence through a lunar base that serves as a test laboratory for an even more ambitious mission: sending a crew to Mars.

All these space projects are made up of a huge group of people who will take science to a new stage of discovery; where these four astronauts will be in charge of leading a new generation of navigators and stellar dreamers. There is no doubt that this shows that they are true modern heroes who have been selected after a rigorous training and selection process by NASA.

For this reason, in this article, we will take a closer look at the four astronauts who will be part of the crew of the Artemis II mission.

The Fantastic 4 of the Artemis II Mission

Christina Koch

Originally from Michigan. This astronaut earned her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Physics from North Carolina State University (USA). In addition, she holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering. Her first job as an electrical engineer was at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she was instrumental in creating scientific devices for various agency space missions.

The 44-year-old engineer has made notable contributions in Antarctica. There he participated in the fire prevention and control teams, as well as the Ocean/Glacier search and rescue teams.

In 2013, she was chosen as one of eight new NASA astronauts. Currently, Christina Koch holds the title of the longest individual spaceflight by a woman, lasting 328 days in space. In addition, she has been part of the first series of all-female spacewalks.

Victor J Glover

In 1994, he graduated from Ontario High School in California. He earned a Bachelor of Science in General Engineering from California Polytechnic State University. In 2007, he completed a Master of Science in Flight Test Engineering at the United States Air Force University in Edwards, California. In 2010, he completed a Master of Arts in Military Operational Science and Arts at the Air University in Montgomery, Alabama.

Three years later, while serving as a legislative member of the United States Senate, Glover was selected to become an astronaut. Most recently, he served as pilot and second-in-command on the Crew-1 SpaceX Crew Dragon mission, called "Resilience." This was the first crewed mission for SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft after its certification, and it was a long-duration mission to the International Space Station. Glover also worked as a flight engineer during Expedition 64. Currently, he is assigned as a pilot for NASA's Artemis II mission.

Jeremy Hanson

He is a native of London, Ontario, Canada and holds a degree in space science from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. In 2014, Jeremy Hansen participated as a member of the NEEMO 19 crew in a seven-day period, simulating deep space exploration while living and working in the Aquarius habitat located on the ocean floor near Key Largo, Florida. As of 2017, he is the first Canadian astronaut to lead a NASA astronaut class, implying his skill in training astronaut candidates from both the United States and Canada.

In 2023, Jeremy Hansen is the first Canadian to fly around the moon.

Reid Wiseman

This American astronaut had his first spaceflight as an Expedition 41 flight engineer aboard the International Space Station. During his 165-day stay on the station, Reid and his crewmates conducted more than 300 scientific experiments in various fields including medicine, human physiology, physical sciences, astrophysics, and Earth sciences. In their week of research, they achieved a station milestone by completing 82 hours of experiments. Additionally, Reid completed two spacewalks as the lead spacewalker and shared his experience on social media. He studied at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Johns Hopkins University, and served as chief of the Astronaut Office before being assigned as NASA's Artemis II mission commander.