The first African-American, the first woman, and the first non-American astronaut to fly around the moon. NASA introduces the astronauts of the Artemis II mission. When will they launch into space?
Man’s return to the moon is taking shape in the form of specific people who will fly into space – even if they only circle the moon so far. NASA presented the crew of the Artemis II mission, with which they want to overcome several historical moments. Who will be the first African-American on the moon? The first wife? The first non-American astronaut to see the moon up close?
The first woman on the moon
Four astronauts will undertake the Artemis II lunar mission. The crew consists of Commander Reid Wiseman, who participated in a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015, while pilot Jeremy Hansen will take off from Earth for the first time. Co-pilot Victor Glover is the first African-American to spend half a year on the ISS. And the first woman on the moon must become an astronaut Christina Koch.
Christina Koch is known for holding the record for the longest spacewalk by a woman (328 days) and in 2019, along with her colleague Jessica Meir, took part in the first all-female spacewalk.
When does Artemis II start?
The Artemis II mission will be launched at the earliest in May 2024. This will be the first manned flight beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. The astronauts will fly around the moon similar to the Apollo 8 crew.
In doing so, specially developed modern technologies such as the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the Orion spacecraft or new space suits will be tested. During the follow-up Artemis III mission, previously planned for 2025, a man – or rather, two astronauts – should finally retrace Neil Armstrong’s footsteps and land on the Moon.
