Get Instant Loan up to ₹10 Lakh!
From first woman to black astronaut, know all about NASA’s 2024 flight around Moon
NASA announced its team of astronauts who will voyage into deep space in its Artemis II lunar mission. The space mission will be the first of its kind after the historic Apollo mission
For the first time in five decades, NASA announced the team of its human spaceflight Mission to the Moon. Apart from being one of NASA's first such mission in last 50 years, the space team includes first woman and black man to voyage into deep space.
The four astronauts who will be a part of NASA's human spaceflight to the Moon are Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Hammock Koch. The American space agency will send astronauts to the Moon as part of the Artemis program in late 2024.
The four astronauts were introduced by NASA administrator Bill Nelso at an event at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston. "The largest, most powerful rocket in the world is going to propel them onward and upward into the heavens," Nelson said.
About the fantastic four of Artemis II
The first lady in the mission, Christina Koch is a NASA astronaut and holds the record for the longest single spacelift by a woman. She will serve as the mission specialist on next year's Artemis II flight around the Moon.
The next member of the space team, Victor Glover, was a naval aviator. He will pilot the Orion spacecraft that circles the Moon in November 2024. With this, he will become the first Black man to take part in a lunar mission.
The other two members of the crew are 47-year-old veteran NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman and former fighter pilot Jeremy Hansen. Jeremy Hansen is now working with the Canadian Space Agency.
The Artemis II flight team consisting of three Americans and one Canadian will be the first to venture that deep into space since the historic Apollo missions that ended in 1972. The flight to the Moon will help humans in moving ahead with their aim for mission to Mars.
Unlike his American teammates, Jeremy Hansen will be making his first space flight in this mission in 2024. The rest of the team members have spent time on International Space Station (ISS).
Christina Hammock Koch is an electrical engineer by profession and he had spent a record 11 consecutive months in space. She was also the part of the first all-female spacewalks on the ISS. She had spent a record 11 consecutive months in space. Expressing her enthusiasm for the project, she said "Am I excited?" Koch said. "Absolutely!"
Victor Glover called Artemis II as “the next step that gets humanity to Mars.”
Artemis and NASA's mission to Mars
As part of the Artemis program, NASA aims to send astronauts to the Moon in 2025 after more than five decades of the final Apollo mission. The US space agency is looking to build a lasting human presence on the lunar surface as a stepping stone for voyage to Mars. Nelson, the NASA chief, has said he expects a crewed mission to Mars by the year 2040.
The 10-day Artemis II mission will test NASA's powerful Space Launch System rocket as well as the life-support systems aboard the Orion spacecraft. The first Artemis flight wrapped up in December with an uncrewered Orion capsule landing back to Earth safely after a 25-day journey around the Moon. During its trip around Earth's orbiting satellite and back, Orion went farther from Earth than anny previous habitable spacecraft.
(With agency inputs)
Catch all the Business News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
Business NewsNewsFrom first woman to black astronaut, know all about NASA’s 2024 flight around Moon
First Published:4 Apr 2023, 07:22 AM IST
- Top Gainers
- Top Losers
- 52 Week High