NASA's historic Artemis 2 lunar mission crew comprises history makers, who are they?

On Monday, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) unveiled the crew for Artemis 2, a 10-day mission orbiting the moon planned for launch in late 2024. After over 50 years, humanity will be making its first journey to the moon, and the team will consist of NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, as well as the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen. 

Notably, Victor Glover will be making history as the first black man to go to the Moon. Koch, being part of the crew, is also one for the history books, as she will be the first woman headed for a lunar mission. Hansen, from Canada, will become the first non-American to venture beyond Earth's orbit.

Keep reading for a quick overview of each of the four astronauts selected for the historic Artemis 2 mission, marking the first human trip to lunar territory since NASA's Apollo 17 expedition in December 1972.

Artemis 2 Pilot Victor Glover, NASA

Victor Glover, a 46-year-old astronaut, was born in Pomona, California. He received his bachelor's degree in engineering from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, followed by three engineering master's degrees - one from Air University at Edwards Air Force Base in California, one from the Naval Postgraduate School, and another from Air University in Montgomery, Alabama.

Glover, like Wiseman, served as a fighter pilot in the US Navy and was deployed several times. According to his NASA biography, he logged "3,000 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft, over 400 carrier arrested landings, and 24 combat missions." He is married to Dionna and has four children.

(Image: NASA)

Glover was selected as part of NASA's 2013 astronaut class, the one following Wiseman's, and completed his training two years later. He has one spaceflight under his belt, Crew-1, which was the first operational mission to the International Space Station that SpaceX flew for NASA. The Crew-1 mission launched in November 2020 and returned to Earth in May 2021, during which Glover participated in four spacewalks, spending a total of 168 days in orbit.

"We need to celebrate this moment in human history," Glover said of Artemis 2 on Monday. "Because Artemis 2 is more than a mission to the moon, and it's more than a mission that has to happen before we send people to the surface of the moon. It is the next step on the journey that gets humanity to Mars," he added

Glover will make history as the first black man on a lunar mission.

Artemis 2 Mission Specialist Christina Hammock Koch, NASA

Christina Koch, who is 44 years old, grew up in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering from North Carolina State University. She worked as an electrical engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, contributing to the development of science instruments for several robotic NASA missions, including the Juno Jupiter orbiter and the Van Allen Probes, which studied the radiation environment near Earth. Koch is married to Robert Koch.

Koch also has experience in scientific fieldwork in remote locations such as Antarctica, Greenland, and far northern Alaska, working as a research associate in the US Antarctic Program and a field engineer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

(Image: NASA)

In 2013, Koch joined NASA's astronaut class alongside Victor Glover. She completed her training in 2015 and was later assigned to her first spaceflight, a long-duration mission to the International Space Station. Her mission launched in March 2019 and returned to Earth in February 2020, during which she spent a total of 328 days aboard the orbiting lab, setting the record for the longest single mission by a woman. In October 2019, Koch and Jessica Meir made history by conducting the first all-female spacewalk outside the ISS. Koch performed a total of six spacewalks during her time aboard the ISS.

Artemis 2 will be Koch's second spaceflight. Koch will also be scripted 

"Am I excited? Absolutely. But my real question is, Are you excited?" Koch said during Monday's announcement event, which was broadcast live on NASA TV. "And I ask that because the one thing I'm most excited about is that we are going to carry your excitement, your aspirations, your dreams with us on this mission. Artemis 2: your mission."

Artemis 2 Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Canadian Space Agency (CSA)

Jeremy Hansen, aged 47 and hailing from London, Ontario, obtained a Bachelor's degree in honours space science and a Master's degree in physics from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. He is a colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force and was a fighter pilot from 2004 to 2009, according to his official Canadian Space Agency (CSA) biography. He is married to Catherine and has three children.

(Image: NASA)

Hansen was one of the two individuals selected as a CSA astronaut in the agency's third recruitment campaign in 2009. He finished astronaut training in 2011 and further prepared for spaceflight by participating in a subterranean expedition of the European Space Agency's CAVES program in 2013 and an underwater excursion in 2014 through NASA's NEEMO program.

In 2017, Hansen was appointed to lead the training of NASA and CSA astronaut candidates, becoming the first Canadian to hold this position. His seat aboard Artemis 2 was granted in exchange for CSA's contributions to NASA's Artemis program, including the Canadarm3, a powerful robotic arm that will be an essential component of the Gateway space station that NASA intends to construct in lunar orbit, reported Space.com.

Artemis 2 will be Hansen's maiden spaceflight, making him the first non-American to venture beyond Earth orbit.

Artemis 2 Commander Reid Wiseman, NASA

Reid Wiseman, hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, is a 47-year-old astronaut who holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York and a master's degree in engineering from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Alongside his academic achievements, Wiseman is a military veteran who received his designation as a Naval Aviator in 1999. He served as a fighter pilot and was deployed twice to the Middle East, with his second deployment taking place in 2003, according to his NASA biography.

Wiseman was selected by NASA as one of nine members in its 2009 astronaut class, completing his training in 2011. In 2014, he embarked on his first and only space mission, serving as a crewmember on the International Space Station's Expedition 40 and Expedition 41 missions for a total of 165 days before returning to Earth in November 2014. Tragically, his wife Carol passed away due to cancer in May 2020.

(Image: NASA)

From December 2020 to November 2022, Wiseman held the position of chief of NASA's astronaut office. He has now been selected as part of the four-member crew for Artemis 2, the first crewed mission for NASA's deep-space transportation system, which includes the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion capsule. Wiseman will soon begin his training for this historic mission.

"This is a global effort, Artemis 2, and it's only going to get larger with Artemis 3 and beyond as we get private spaceflight involved; SpaceX is building our lander for Artemis 3," Wiseman said during the crew announcement ceremony on Monday.

"So to the NASA workforce, to our program managers, our centre directors that are here, the amazing political support that we feel right now to bring our country together, to bring our entire world together to go explore to get to Mars and beyond, we say a huge thank you," Wiseman said.