The National Aeronautics and Space Administration selected 18 astronauts to form the Artemis Team, a group of space travelers who will eventually conduct missions on and around the moon as part of the agency’s Artemis program.
The astronauts were announced Wednesday by Vice President Mike Pence at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“I give you the heroes who will carry us to the moon and beyond — the Artemis Generation,” Pence said. “It is amazing to think that the next man and first woman on the moon are among the names that we just read. The Artemis Team astronauts are the future of American space exploration — and that future is bright.”
The Artemis program is on track to conduct a manned moon exploration mission in 2024, with the final goal of establishing “a sustainable human lunar presence by the end of the decade,” according to a press release. The 2024 moon mission will also land the first woman on the moon.
The team comprises a diverse group of astronauts, some of whom have been working for NASA since 1996, such as Stephanie Wilson, who participated in three space shuttle flights, and others who became astronauts as recently as 2017. Christina Koch, who holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, has spent 328 days in space, participating in six spacewalks. Joseph Acaba was a former high school math and science teacher before becoming an astronaut in 2004. Others on the team have served in various branches of the armed services, and seven have doctorates in a variety of fields.
“There is so much exciting work ahead of us as we return to the moon, and it will take the entire astronaut corps to make that happen,” chief astronaut Pat Forrester said. “Walking on the lunar surface would be a dream come true for any one of us, and any part we can play in making that happen is an honor. I am proud of this particular group of men and women and know that any of them would do an outstanding job representing NASA and the United States on a future Artemis mission.”
There will be a number of Artemis missions, which are set to begin in 2021, leading up to the moon exploration. In preparation for those missions, the astronauts will assist in the development of human landing systems and other space hardware and will participate in public engagements to explain the future missions.
The first mission will be “the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems.” The mission will launch the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System rocket in the farthest unmanned flight ever conducted by a spacecraft built for humans, traveling 280,000 miles. The moon, by comparison, is just shy of 240,000 miles away from the Earth.
Following the unveiling of the 18-person crew, the White House released the National Space Policy of the United States of America, a document that outlines the guiding principles of U.S. space travel, emphasizing a “robust, innovative, and competitive commercial space sector,” the importance of extracting space resources, and international relationships regarding all nations’ “right to pass through and conduct operations in space without interference.”
“This policy represents a whole-of-government approach that recognizes space as a national imperative,” President Trump said in a statement. “After years of drift, my Administration revived the United States space enterprise to once again unleash our unmatched pioneering potential. … Through our Artemis program, the United States is working hand-in-hand with commercial and international partners to return to the Moon — this time to stay — and prepare for the next great American adventure, the giant leap to Mars.”
Both Trump and the National Space Policy emphasized the role outer space will play in the “security of the Nation and our allies.” The policy warned that “all elements of national power … to deter and, if necessary, prevail over hostile activities” will be deployed against any adversary who threatens “to endanger the benefits we all drive from space.”
