London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Feb 06, 2025

NASA Names First Woman, First Black Astronauts For Artemis II Moon Mission

NASA Names First Woman, First Black Astronauts For Artemis II Moon Mission

NASA on Monday named the first woman and the first African American ever assigned as astronauts to a lunar mission, introducing them as part of the four-member team chosen to fly on what would be the first crewed voyage around the moon in more than 50 years.
Christina Koch, an engineer who already holds the record for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman and was part of NASA's first three all-female spacewalks, was named as a mission specialist for the Artemis II lunar flyby expected as early as next year.

She will be joined by Victor Glover, a U.S. Navy aviator and veteran of four spacewalks who NASA has designated as pilot of Artemis II. He will be the first Black astronaut ever to be sent on a lunar mission.

Rounding out the four-member crew are Jeremy Hansen, a Royal Canadian Air Force colonel and first Canadian ever chosen for a flight to the moon, as a mission specialist, and Reid Wiseman, another former U.S. Navy fighter pilot, named as Artemis II mission commander.

All three NASA astronauts chosen for the Artemis II mission are veterans of previous expeditions aboard the International Space Station. Hansen is a spaceflight rookie.

The Artemis II quartet were introduced at a pep rally-like event attended by journalists, local elementary school students and space industry leaders, televised from Houston at the Johnson Space Center, NASA's mission control base.

"The Artemis II crew represents thousands of people working tirelessly to bring us to the stars," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said on stage. "This is humanity's crew."

Artemis II will mark the debut crewed flight - but not the first lunar landing - of an Apollo successor program aimed at returning astronauts to the moon's surface later this decade and ultimately establishing a sustainable outpost there as a stepping stone to future human exploration of Mars.

The kickoff Artemis I mission was successfully completed in December 2022, capping the inaugural launch of NASA's powerful next-generation mega-rocket and its newly built Orion spacecraft on an uncrewed test flight that lasted 25 days.

The objective of the 10-day, 1.4-million-mile (2.3-million-km) Artemis II journey around the moon and back, is to demonstrate that all of Orion's life-support apparatus and other systems will operate as designed with astronauts aboard in deep space.

Artemis II will venture some 6,400 miles (10,300 km) beyond the far side of the moon before returning, marking the closest pass humans have made to Earth's natural satellite since Apollo 17, which carried Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt to the lunar surface in December 1972.

They were the last of 12 NASA astronauts - all of them white men - who walked on the moon during six Apollo missions starting in 1969 with Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.

LUNAR LANDING PLAN

At its farthest distance from Earth, Artemis II is expected to reach a point more than 230,000 miles (370,000 km) away. The typical low-Earth orbit altitude of the International Space Station is about 250 miles (420 km) above the planet.

Carried to Earth orbit atop NASA's two-stage Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the Artemis II crew will practice manual maneuvers with the Orion spacecraft before handing back to ground control for further tests and the lunar flyby portion of the mission.

The outbound journey would culminate with Orion looping around the moon, then using both the Earth's and the moon's gravity to send the spacecraft on a propulsion-free return flight lasting about four more days, ending in a splashdown at sea.

If Artemis II is a success, NASA plans to follow a few years later with the programs' first lunar landing of astronauts, one of them a woman, on Artemis III, then continue with additional crewed missions about once a year.

Compared with the Apollo program, born of the Cold War-era U.S.-Soviet space race, Artemis is broader based, enlisting commercial partners such as Elon Musk's SpaceX and the government space agencies of Canada, Europe and Japan.

It also marks a major redirection of NASA's human spaceflight ambitions beyond low-Earth orbit after decades focused on Space Shuttles and the International Space Station.
Comments

Oh ya 2 year ago
Well i guess they are trying to cover all the bases black, women, gay? well they might have that covered also. Who is going to film this movie lie? With Stanley Kubrick dead I hope they can find as good a film makers as he was. The last moon landing was done when the USA needed a feel good boost because they just had their asses beat in Vietnam and now is the same with the world rejecting the USD, banks collapsing, operation Sandman coming, the end of empire

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Signs Executive Order Prohibiting Transgender Athletes from Competing in Women's Sports
Intense Pressure Builds for a Free Trade Agreement Between the UK and GCC in Light of Economic Difficulties
UAE Aids in the Transfer of 300 Prisoners Between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump Suggests U.S. 'Takeover' of Gaza, Sparking Global Worries
At least ten fatalities reported in Swedish school shooting, authorities confirm.
EU Reveals Significant Advances on Special Tribunal for Prosecuting Vladimir Putin
Trump Administration Preparing Executive Order to Abolish the Department of Education
Trump's Gaza Plan Provokes Global Debate
Spain Endorses Initiative to Cut Working Week to 37.5 Hours
Australia Prohibits DeepSeek AI on Government Devices Due to Security Issues
Trump Warns of Tariffs on EU Products, Labels Bloc an 'Atrocity' in Trade Matters
Zelenskyy Proposes Nuclear Arsenal if NATO Membership Lingers.
Zelenskyy Urges for 'Robust Security Assurances' from Russia to Conclude the Conflict in Ukraine
European Union Proposes Reforms to 1951 Refugee Convention
China's humanoid robots poised to transform everyday living and spiritual functions.
Changes in US tariffs on Chinese products could affect consumers more significantly than they do China.
How Innovations in China's Humanoid Robots Ignite Fierce Competition with the US
Germany Experiences 34% Decrease in Asylum Applications During Migration Discussion
Experts Challenge Conviction of UK Nurse Lucy Letby for Baby Killings
AfD Chief Alice Weidel Enhances Global Standing Through Meeting with Viktor Orban
Nigel Farage's Reform UK Party Leads Poll Amid Growing Public Demand for Change
Conor Murphy Steps Down as Northern Ireland Economy Minister to Join Irish Parliament
Over 1 Million Face Penalties After Missing HMRC Self-Assessment Tax Deadline
Scottish Government Denies Plans to Ban Cat Ownership Amid Controversy
Bridget Phillipson Urges Parents to Prioritize School Attendance Amid Rising Absence Rates
Keir Starmer Advocates for Stronger UK-EU Security Partnership in Brussels
Six English Councils Granted Permission to Raise Council Tax Bills Above Cap Amid Financial Struggles
Keir Starmer Faces Growing Backlash Over Potential Approval of Rosebank Oilfield
AI Consciousness Raises Ethical Concerns, Say Experts
Families Urge NHS England to Release Full Report on Nottingham Triple Homicide
NHS Initiates Largest AI Trial for Breast Cancer Detection
UK Tightens Regulations on Online Sales of Weight-Loss Injections
Gambling Ads Shown to Parents on Baby Monitor App, Raising Concerns
Ancient Irish Rainforests at Risk Due to the Growth of Monoculture Plantations
EU Leaders Deliberate on Defense Strategy Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
EU Leaders Convene Important Summit on Defense in Response to Rising Tensions
Trump Directs Establishment of U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund, Considers TikTok Purchase
Britain Considers U.S. Gas Imports in Response to Possible Trump Tariffs
French Prime Minister Bayrou Confronts Several No-Confidence Votes Regarding the 2025 Budget
Shutdown of USAID Headquarters in Light of U.S. Government Reduction Initiatives
President Trump Launches Establishment of U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund with Possible TikTok Purchase
Investigation Launched Following Viral Video of Bodybuilder's Airport Prank
Cooling Blankets: A Remedy for Those Who Sleep Hot or Just a Marketing Ploy?
Trump Wins Again as Canada Agrees to Strengthen Border Security
Trump Seeks Rare Minerals from Ukraine in Exchange for U.S. Support
EU Leaders Reach Consensus to Increase Defence Expenditure in Response to Growing Security Threats
UK Business Confidence Declines Amid Economic Uncertainty, Lloyds Survey Shows
Abhishek Sharma's Century Secures India a 4-1 T20 Series Win Over England
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will welcome German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for talks at Chequers.
Australian soccer sensation Sam Kerr confronts a racial abuse trial in London.
×