The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Monday announced the names of four astronauts including a woman and person of colour who will be the first humans to return to the moon after five decades since the end of the Apollo missions.
According to reports, the astronauts named will go around the Moon with the Artemis-II mission set to launch in 2024 from the United States of America.
The following are the four astronauts:
A US Navy pilot Reid Wiseman who served for a time as the head of NASA’s astronaut office.
A US Navy test pilot Victor Glover. He joined NASA in 2012 and made his first spaceflight in 2020. He is the first person of colour who will join the astronauts on the moon mission.
An electrical engineer Christina Koch holding the record for the longest continuous time in space by a woman, of 328 days. She will be the first woman NASA picked for the moon mission.
A former Canadian fighter pilot Jeremy Hansen who is yet to fly in space.
NASA administrator Bill Nelson was quoted by BBC saying, “The Artemis-II crew represents thousands of people working tirelessly to bring us to the stars. This is their new crew, this is humanity’s crew.”
“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 - out of many, one. Together, we are ushering in a new era of exploration for a new generation of star sailors and dreamers - the Artemis Generation,” he added.
It may be mentioned that this the first time in 50 years that humans will walk on the moon.
The last time humans walked on the Moon was in the year 1972 when Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan left his footprints on Earth’s natural satellite.
