Reid Wiseman, Commander
Victor Glover, Pilot
Christina Koch, Mission Specialist 1
Jeremy Hansen, Mission Specialist 2
Who is Reid Wiseman?
NASA holds a press conference with Artemis II mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, pilo…
Reid Wiseman, Commander of Artemis II.NurPhoto/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Wiseman has a long history with space flight and has logged 165 days in space, including stints aboard the International Space Station. In 2020, he was also Chief of the Astronaut Office, a role which he stepped down from to return to flight duty. He is originally from Baltimore.
Who is Victor Glover?
NASA astronaut and Artemis II pilot Victor Gloverand looks on during the rollout of NASA’s next-gene…
Victor Glover, the pilot of Artemis II.MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP/Getty Images
Like many astronaut legends from the 1960s and 1970s, Glover’s background is that of a test pilot, meaning his flight experience is impressive and intense. He is also the first pilot to fly SpaceX’s Dragon. He’s been in space for a total of 167 days, including Expedition 64, the record-breaking ISS stint. Glover hails from Pomona, California. He will become the first person of color to orbit the Moon.
Who is Christina Koch?
The four astronauts from the Artemis II crew to the moon speak to the media ahead of testing at Kenn…
Christina Koch, one of the mission specialists for Artemis II.NurPhoto/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Koch’s background is that of an engineer and astrophysicist. She is one of two mission specialists for Artemis II, and will be largely responsible for checking to make sure the environmental and technical aspects of the Orion spacecraft are functioning correctly. Koch has logged 328 days in space prior to this mission, making her the person on the crew with the most time-in-space experience. She will become the first woman to orbit the Moon during the Artemis II mission. She is from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Who is Jeremy Hansen?
Canadian Space Agency astronaut, NASA Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, looks on during t…
Jeremy Hansen is ready for the Moon.MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP/Getty Images
Hansen is a Canadian astronaut originally from London, Ontario. Like Koch, he is a mission specialist for this flight. But, Hansen has flight experience owing to his time in the Royal Canadian Air Force, where he held the rank of Colonel. Though Hansen trained in NASA’s NEEMO 19, an underwater facility to simulate extreme environments, he has not yet been to space, making this flight to the Moon his first time.
There are a lot more details to dive into about Artemis II. And, in addition to the X feed from NASA and the NASA YouTube channel, there’s also a new streaming docuseries created by NASA called Moonbound. This streams on Nasa+, which is 100 percent free and can be watched right here. So far, there are two episodes, each about 30 minutes long.
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