Southern Californians Selected for NASA’s Artemis Space Missions

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken (L) and Douglas Hurley are seen inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX GO Navigator recovery ship shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Fla., on Aug. 2, 2020. Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP

LOS ANGELES (CNS)—NASA announced Dec. 9 the selection of three Southern California residents among the first 18 astronauts of the Artemis program, the space agency’s effort to land the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024.

Vice President Mike Pence introduced the members of the Artemis team on Dec. 9 during the eighth National Space Council meeting at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.