NASA has announced the names of four astronauts selected for the Artemis 2 lunar mission. The expedition, scheduled for November 2024, will be the first manned mission to the Moon since 1972.
The crew of Artemis-2 included Americans Reed Wiseman (commander), Christina Koch and Victor Glover, as well as Canadian Jeremy Hansen. According to the plan, the mission will last 10 days: during this time, the astronauts will fly to the moon and fly around it in the Orion capsule, after which they will return to Earth. “We are ushering in a new era of exploration for a new generation of star travelers and dreamers – the Artemis Generation,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at the team’s introduction ceremony.
This mission, which was preceded by the unmanned Artemis 1, will in turn be the preparation for Artemis 3, scheduled for 2025 and including a moon landing. In the long term, NASA aims to establish a base on the Earth's satellite. This base will allow testing for the next task – sending a man to Mars.