Who Will Fly Around the Moon? Introducing the Artemis II Astronauts

It’s time for another space adventure, for the second flight to the Moon and back, and even more, to Mars.

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We bring you four names, four astronauts chosen for the Artemis II mission on the Orion spacecraft, as well as some other interesting facts about this mission. So, stay here to find out more about the new journey to space.

On NASA’s Official Broadcast Devoted to Artemis II Mission

The show was broadcasted on 11 AM EDT, in April 2023, and it already has more than 273K views! That's an amazing thing! The whole world is talking about NASA’s new mission to the Moon. The ceremony was held at the Johnson Space Center via Ellington Field, in Houston, Texas, It was indeed a very spectacular ceremony, hosted by Joe Acaba, the chief of NASA’s astronaut office, and Norm Knight, the director of NASA’s flight operations directorate, who were also responsible for choosing those four astronauts for Artemis II. The election was supervised by Vanessa White, the JSC Director, who also held a speech at the ceremony.

Since it is the first international mission to the Moon, Canadian Minister champagne, Francois Phillipe also held a short speech about the importance of the mission to the Moon, and international cooperation. He highlighted that we’re entering a new era, the space era.

The Artemis II Mission

As one of the speakers at the ceremony said, being an astronaut and a member of such a crew is like doing an ultimate team sport. The four astronauts work together with a vast team of engineers, trainers, and many other individuals who help them to live their dream. The mission will start sometime in 2024.

It takes more than just four members to fly to the Moon and back. A lot of preparation awaits the four-astronaut crew. Their journey will last for four days, but before heading to the Moon, they will ride for eight minutes into Earth orbit, then reaching 10 000 miles to test all Orbit systems before being ready to go towards the Moon, and then go back. They’ll be riding 25 000 miles per hour on their way back home, probably crashing into the Pacific ocean.

However, the mission wouldn’t be possible without prior investigations. The last successful operation occurred last December when the Orion capsule, without crew, journeyed about 1.4 millions miles around the Moon and back to investigate the area, so that the next journey would be possible with the crew. 

Artemis II Mission to the Mars

Just short information on this. If everything goes well in the Artemis II Mission to the Moon, the Artemis II mission will continue. The next station will be Mars, and after Mars, who knows. Most of space is still unknown. Maybe one day, we’ll answer the question of whether space is endless or not.

The Artemis II Crew

After 50 years, it’s time for another mission to the Moon, but this mission is in many ways different from the first one. This time, there are four astronauts, three men and one woman. Moreover, it’s the first international mission to the Moon, because it’ll be done in cooperation with the Canadian Space Agency, meaning that there will be one Canadian astronaut.

The four astronauts, the four star sailors chosen to be on Orbit for the Artemis II mission to the Moon are Christina Hammock Koch, the first woman to fly to the Moon, Jeremy Hanson, the Canadian astronaut, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman. 

Christina Hammock Koch

Christina Hammock Koch will be the first woman who will fly to the moon. She has a master's degree in engineering. She is known as the record-setting astronaut for spending 328 days aboard the orbiting lab. Her role for this mission is mission specialist. She’s from Jacksonville, North Carolina. She says that she has dreamed about this even as a kid. She had a poster from the Apollo 8 mission on the wall. Her dreams will soon become reality. 

Jeremy Hanson

Jeremy Hanson is a Canadian astronaut who will join NASA’s Artemis II mission to the Moon. His role for the mission is being the mission specialist. He has a master's degree in physics, and master’s degree in honors space science. He served as a fighter pilot in the Royal Navy from 2004 to 2009, and later,  he was recruited into the Canadian Space Agency in 2009.

Victor Glover

Victor Glover is from Pomona, California. Glover will be the first Afro-American who will fly to the Moon. He is the pilot of this mission. Being a fighter pilot in the U.S. Navy, Victor logged3,000 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft.He has actually three engineering master’s degrees, one from Air University at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the Naval Postgraduate School and Air University in Montgomery, Alabama. 

Reid Wiseman

Reid Wiseman is from Baltimore, Maryland. Maybe there is something behind his surname, being a wise man, he is chosen to be the commander of the Artemis II mission to the Moon. He was also a member of the U.S. Navy., as a Naval Aviator. Before starting the training for the Artemis II mission, Reid  was the chief of NASA's astronaut office from December 2020 to November 2022. He has had only one spaceflight by now, that lasted for 165 days.

 

They are artists

It’s what they say about themselves. Artists of a new era, of the space era, who explore the vast miles of space. These four Artemis II crew members are there for us in cooperation with many other astronauts and experts, reaching far away into space. They are excited, who wouldn’t be. Are we excited for them, about this space journey, a journey that tests how far away humanity can push its limits. We wish them good luck with their mission to the Moon.

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