NASA’s mission around the moon called Artemis 2 has finally had its astronauts revealed. The information was published on the NASA website, the US federal government agency responsible for research and development of technologies and space exploration programs, where it is said that this will be the first long-term manned mission to the Moon.
According to the NASA publication, the crew of Artemis II is: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist 1 Christina Hammock Koch and Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen. The goal is teamwork to carry out various demonstrations during the flight. Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator, says:
The Artemis II team represents thousands of people working tirelessly to take us to the stars. This is their crew, this is our crew, this is humanity’s crew. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Hammock Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen each have 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 sailors and dreamers – the Artemis Generation.
How long will the Artemis II flight last?
According to NASA, the plan is for the Artemis II mission flight to last approximately 10 days. The manned Orion spacecraft will be carried by a rocket from the agency’s Space Launch System. The test flight around the Moon will serve to test the life support systems of the Orion spacecraft, in addition to validating the technical capabilities for humans to live and work in space.
Astronauts selected for Artemis II
This will be Commander Reid Wiseman’s second trip to space. Previously, he was deployed as a flight engineer at the International Station on Expedition 41, which ran from May to November 2014. Reid spent 165 days in space, including 13 hours leading a “spacewalk” during two trips outside of NASA’s orbital complex. International Station.
This will be the second flight for pilot Victor Glover, who was previously assigned as a pilot on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1. On this mission, he spent 168 days in space until he landed on May 21, 2021 back on Earth. He was a flight engineer aboard the Expedition 64 space station, contributing to scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, as well as conducting four spacewalks.
Christina Hammock Koch, Mission 1 Specialist, is also making her second flight into space on the Artemis II mission. Previously, she was cast as a flight engineer on the space station during Expeditions 59, 60 and 61. Christina held the record for the longest space flight made by a woman, adding a total of 328 days in space, in addition to participating of the first female spacewalks.
Jeremy Hansen, Mission Specialist 2, is making his first flight into space. He is a Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and a former fighter pilot. Additionally, Jeremy holds a Bachelor of Science in Special Sciences from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, as well as an MA in Physics from the same institution in the 2000s, with a research focus on Wide Field Satellite Tracking. In 2009, he was selected as one of two selected recruits by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and served as Capcom at NASA’s Mission Control Center in Johnson.
In 2017, Jeremy became the first Canadian to be tasked with leading a NASA astronaut class, leading training of astronaut candidates across the US and Canada.