Traveling to the Moon is a dream that very few astronauts have achieved, as no human has returned since the conclusion of the Apollo program in 1972. Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen have secured seats on the most anticipated space mission in decades: Artemis 2, the first manned lunar journey since December 19, 1972, when Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, and Ronald Evans returned after the Apollo 17 mission.
The launch of Artemis 2 is scheduled for this Wednesday, April 1 (midnight on Thursday, April 2 in Spain) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew is there to finalize preparations after undergoing rigorous training for almost three years.
Artemis 2 will not land on the Moon but will orbit our satellite at a distance of 6,400 to 9,600 kilometers from the lunar surface. The goal of this 10-day journey is to test all the spacecraft systems and prepare for a future lunar landing, expected in 2028 during the Artemis 4 mission.
This is a more diverse crew than the Apollo missions, all of which were led by white American astronauts. In Artemis 2, three Americans and one Canadian (Jeremy Hansen, who will become the first non-American citizen to go to the Moon) are traveling. Christina Koch will be the first woman on a lunar flight, and Victor Glover will be the first black astronaut selected for a mission to our satellite.
All four astronauts are between 47 and 50 years old, so none of them were born when Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins made history in 1969 with the Apollo 11 mission. The Apollo-era astronauts had not yet turned 40 when they traveled to our satellite and were experienced pilots - Armstrong and Aldrin had fought in the Korean War, and Collins had also piloted combat aircraft in the US Army before joining NASA.
Among the Artemis crew are also three former military personnel who served as pilots during their time in the Army. All four have engineering backgrounds.
In April 2023, their lives changed when NASA announced they were chosen for this historic mission.
These are the trajectories of the astronauts who will debut the Orion spacecraft and pave the way for the 21st-century lunar race, with the main players being the US and China.
REID WISEMAN
MISSION COMMANDER. 50 YEARS OLD.
He is the leader, the one who will make critical decisions and the ultimate responsible for what happens on the Orion spacecraft during the 10-day journey. The US has chosen a veteran Army pilot to lead this test mission, someone familiar with the space agency and accustomed to dealing with crew members, as he was the Head of NASA's Astronaut Office between 2020 and 2022, one of the agency's most relevant positions.
He traveled to space once - between May and November 2014 aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz - accumulating 165 days on the International Space Station (ISS), during which he was involved in a full-blown diplomatic crisis. His mission coincided with the conflict with Russia due to the annexation of Crimea, leading NASA to suspend its collaboration with the Russian space agency, except for Reid's flight on Soyuz.
During his space mission, he conducted two spacewalks and, along with his crewmates, carried out over 300 scientific experiments in areas such as human physiology, medicine, physical sciences, Earth sciences, and astrophysics.
He has been very active on social media, sharing many of the photos he took on the ISS, and even posting the first Vine video from space in June 2014.
Born in Baltimore, Reid Wiseman studied computer engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and later obtained a master's degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He joined the Army in 1997 and two years later became a naval aviator, participating in two deployments in the Middle East during Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. He was a test pilot until he was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2009, receiving the news while deployed in the Middle East. He has two daughters and is a widower (his wife, Carroll Taylor, passed away in 2020).
VICTOR GLOVER
MISSION PILOT. 49 YEARS OLD.
California native Victor Glover will be the first black astronaut assigned to a lunar mission. His role on Artemis 2 is the mission pilot. Although the Orion spacecraft is automated, astronauts can manually take control if necessary.
Born in Pomona, Glover is also an engineer - after graduating from California Polytechnic State University, he obtained several master's degrees in Flight Test Engineering, Systems Engineering, and Operational Military Art and Science. He served in the Navy as a naval aviator and test pilot (holding the rank of captain), participating in 24 combat missions.
In 2013, while working as a legislative fellow in the US Senate, he was selected as a NASA astronaut. During his first spaceflight in 2020 aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, he served as the pilot for Crew-1, the first crewed mission after the spacecraft was certified for astronaut flights. He was the flight engineer on the International Space Station during Expedition 64, spending a total of 168 days in space and conducting four spacewalks, along with various scientific experiments.
After his space mission, he worked on lunar landing systems and as a supervisor in NASA's Astronaut Office. Before joining NASA, he was stationed in various locations in the US and Japan, where he lived with his family. He is married and has four children.
CHRISTINA KOCH
MISSION SPECIALIST. 47 YEARS OLD.
Sally Ride became the first American woman in space on June 18, 1983, and Christina Koch will now mark another milestone in space exploration, a field that has been dominated by men for decades.
Her role as a mission specialist involves handling critical technical and scientific tasks, including operating experiments, managing robotic systems, or conducting spacewalks (although in Artemis 2, they will not leave the Orion spacecraft at any time).
The first woman to participate in a lunar mission was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and of the four Artemis 2 crew members, she has spent the most time in space, accumulating 328 consecutive days. This was the longest spaceflight by a woman, surpassing the previous record held by her compatriot Peggy Whitson.
During her extended stay on the ISS, she conducted six spacewalks, including the first three involving only women. The first all-female spacewalk was controversial as it had to be suspended in March 2019 due to the unavailability of a second medium-sized spacesuit needed by the two selected astronauts - Anne McClain and Christina Koch.
Unable to obtain another medium-sized suit in time, a few days into the mission, NASA announced that Anne McClain would be replaced by her colleague Nick Hague, who then conducted the spacewalk with Christina Koch. Finally, the first all-female spacewalk took place in October 2019, featuring Koch and Jessica Meir.
Christina Koch (Hammock is her maiden name) spent summers on her family farm in Michigan, where her parents instilled in her the importance of hard work and a passion for challenges from a young age.
She studied engineering and physics at North Carolina State University and earned a master's degree in Electrical Engineering. She joined NASA as an engineer at the Goddard Space Flight Center, developing space science instruments in Antarctica and the Arctic between 2004 and 2007. This work allowed her to spend a full year at the US Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and the Palmer Station. In 2007, she returned to developing scientific instruments at Johns Hopkins University's Space Department.
She also worked at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), continuing her research at remote scientific bases until she was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013. After her long mission, during which she conducted numerous scientific experiments, she held a managerial position in the Astronaut Office.
Her NASA profile also highlights her hobbies, including surfing, rock climbing, volunteering, running, yoga, backpacking, photography, and traveling. She is married to Robert 'Bob' Koch, who also works in the aerospace industry, and they reside in Texas.
JEREMY HANSEN
MISSION SPECIALIST. 50 YEARS OLD.
Canadian Jeremy Hansen has not yet traveled to space and will make his debut with a lunar journey. He will become the first non-American astronaut to be part of a lunar mission. His role as a mission specialist, like Christina Koch, is part of the agreement between the US and Canada, which is a partner of NASA in the Artemis program.
Born in London, Ontario, he learned to fly at a young age, obtaining his private pilot's license at just 19. He studied Space Science at the Royal Military College in Kingston and later earned a master's degree in physics. He joined the Army and served as a fighter pilot between 2004 and 2007.
In 2009, he was selected as an astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and since then, he has worked at NASA's Mission Control Center and participated in training missions in terrestrial habitats, such as NASA's NEEMO underwater mission and the ESA's CAVES program.
He is married and has three children.