NASA on Monday named 4 astronauts who will fly around the moon late next yr, including the first woman and the first African American assigned to a lunar mission.
The moon’s first crew in 50 years – three Americans and one Canadian – was unveiled at a ceremony in Houston, home to astronauts and mission control.
“That is the crew of humanity,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
The 4 astronauts might be the first to fly in NASA’s Orion capsule, launched atop a Space Launch System rocket from the Kennedy Space Center no sooner than late 2024.
They will not land and even go into lunar orbit, but quite fly around the moon and return straight back to Earth, a prelude to the moon landings of two others a yr later.
Mission Commander Reid Wiseman might be joined by Victor Glover, an African-American navy pilot; Christina Koch, world record holder for the longest spaceflight by a woman; and Canadian Jeremy Hansen, a former fighter pilot and lone crew space rookie.
Wiseman, Glover and Koch lived on the International Space Station. All 4 are in their forties.
“It’s a great day. We now have a lot to have fun and it’s a lot greater than the 4 names which have been announced,” said Glover.
It’s the first lunar crew to incorporate someone from outside the US – and the first crew in NASA’s latest moon program called Artemis, after Apollo’s twin sister from mythology.
Late last yr, Orion’s empty capsule flew to the moon and back in a long-awaited dress rehearsal.
“Am I excited? Absolutely,” Koch said to the cheers of the crowd of scholars, politicians and others. “But my real query is, ‘Are you excited? she said, drawing more cheers.
The Canadian Space Agency won the spot due to the contributions of enormous robotic arms to NASA’s space shuttles and space station.
One can be planned for the lunar project.
Hansen said he was grateful that Canada was included in the flight.
“We will the moon together. Let’s go!” he said.
During Apollo, NASA sent 24 astronauts to the moon between 1968 and 1972.
Twelve of them landed. They were all military-trained male test pilots, with the exception of Harrison Schmitt of Apollo 17, the geologist who, with the late Gene Cernan, closed the moon landing era.
Provided the next 10-day moon shot goes well, NASA goals to land two astronauts on the moon by around 2025.
NASA chosen from 41 energetic astronauts for its first Artemis crew.
Canada had 4 candidates.
Almost everyone attended Monday’s ceremony at Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field, a rally of sorts that ended with Wiseman singing as he led the crowd.
Congratulations poured in from retired astronauts including Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11 and Scott Kelly, the first American to spend near a yr in space.
“Huge risk, huge commitment, everlasting rewards for all. What a crew!” tweeted Chris Hadfield, Canada’s first space station commander ten years ago, who performed David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” from orbit.
President Joe Biden spoke to the 4 astronauts and their families on Sunday. In a Monday tweet, Biden said the mission would “encourage the next generation of explorers and show every kid – in America, Canada and around the world – that in the event that they can dream it, they might be it.”
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