NASA Announces Crew for 2024 Flight Around the Moon

NASA astronauts listen to speakers during the Artemis II crew announcement held by NASA and CSA at Ellington airport in Houston, Texas, on April 3, 2023. (Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images)

The international team of astronauts who will crew the first manned space flight to orbit the moon in more than 50 years was introduced by representatives from NASA and the Canadian Space Administration in Houston on April 3.

Three Americans and one Canadian will fly to the moon and back aboard Artemis II in 2024, the second preparatory flight ahead of a planned lunar landing in 2025.

U.S. Navy Capt. G. Reid Wiseman was named the commander of Artemis II, while Navy Capt. Victor Glover Jr. is the mission’s pilot. U.S. engineer and veteran astronaut Christina Hammock Koch and Col. Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, a former fighter pilot, are the flight specialists.

Hansen will be the first non-American to leave Earth orbit and fly to the moon.

Children wait for the Artemis II crew announcement at Ellington Field in Houston on April 3, 2023. (Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images)

The introduction was made by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry, at Ellington Field, part of the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Among the several hundred people present for the pep rally-like announcement were Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Brian Babin (R-Texas), and Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas), along with about 40 American, Canadian, and Japanese astronauts and dozens of Houston-area school children.

“We choose to go back to the moon and then on to Mars. And we’re going to do it together because, in the 21st century, NASA explores the cosmos with international partners,” Nelson said.

“We will unlock new knowledge and understanding. We’ve always dreamed about what more is ahead. Why? Because it’s in our DNA.”

Collaborative Effort

The Artemis program is a U.S.-led joint effort involving the European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Canadian Space Agency, and dozens of private companies to return to the moon for scientific discovery, economic benefit, and the inspiration of a new generation of explorers, according to the NASA website.

The Artemis I mission successfully launched an unmanned spacecraft to orbit the moon and return between Nov. 16 and Dec. 11, 2022.

Anna Kikina of Roscosmos (L), Koichi Wakata of JAXA, Josh Cassada, and Nicole Mann of NASA on the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module on March 1, 2023. (NASA via AP)

Artemis II will carry its crew of four to orbit the moon and stress test the ship’s systems in preparation for the eventual establishment of a permanent base camp on the lunar surface. The ultimate goal of the program is to pave the way for a human mission to Mars.

Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Dynetics, and Aerojet, along with a host of other companies, are making major components of current and future mission systems, including the Space Launch System, Orion space capsule, and planned space platform, and lunar base camp.

Enthusiastic Crew

Wiseman, 47, was the lead engineer on the International Space Station (ISS) from May through November 2014, spending more than 165 days in space and spacewalking for 13 hours. He also served as chief of NASA’s astronaut office from 2020 to 2022.

“There are three words that we keep saying in the Artemis program and they are, ‘We are going!’” Wiseman said.

Glover, 46, piloted NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1, which landed in May 2021 after 168 days in space. He has been a flight engineer on the ISS and has made four spacewalks. He likened the Artemis missions to one leg in a relay race of space exploration.

“You may often hear people say human spaceflight is a marathon, not a sprint,” he said.

“Human spaceflight is like a relay race. And that baton has been passed from generation to generation and from crew member to crew,” he said, recalling the various programs in the history of space flight.

Members of the US Navy and NASA Landing and Recovery Team use a crane to remove a test version of the Orion capsule from the water after practicing retrieving astronauts from it in in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Feb. 6, 2023. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Hansen, 47, holds degrees in space science and physics from the Royal Military College of Canada. He was selected by the Canadian Astronaut Recruitment Campaign in 2009. He is the first Canadian to lead a NASA astronaut class.

“It is not lost on any of us that the United States could choose to go back to the moon by itself. But America has made a very deliberate choice over decades to curate a global team. And that in my definition is true leadership,” he said.

Koch, 44, was a flight engineer aboard the ISS and holds the record for the longest continuous time in space by a woman, 328 days.

“It will be a four-day journey going a quarter of a million miles. Continuing to test out every bit of Orion going around the far side of the Moon heading home, going through the Earth’s atmosphere at over 25,000 miles per hour, and splashing down in the Pacific. So am I excited? Absolutely!” Koch said.

“But my real question is, are you excited?” she asked, addressing the school children in attendance. “I see you, and I asked that because the one thing I’m most excited about is that we are going to carry your excitement, your aspirations, your dreams with us on this mission.”

Cost Criticized

NASA’s Space Launch System, the rocket powering the Artemis I and II spacecraft, has been derided for its high cost, more than $23 billion over 12 years, and dubbed the “Senate Launch System” by critics.

The launch of Artemis I was canceled twice before the successful attempt in November 2022. Delays were caused by a faulty engine temperature reading and a hydrogen leak.

The Artemis II mission is currently scheduled for November 2024. Dates for subsequent Artemis missions haven’t been announced.