[imagesource:youtube/nasa]
NASA has finally revealed who’s who in the Artemis 2 crew, and it’s as if they’re trying to make history or something.
Among the astronauts set to return to the lunar orbit for the first time in 50 years is the first woman and person of colour.
“Do we have a lady? Check. Do we have a black person? Affirmative. Do we have all the woke boxes checked for history-making and viral fame? It’ll do.”
Don’t get me wrong, it is dope that previously disadvantaged groups finally have a seat at the rich white men’s table, but I can’t help but feel like NASA is just performing their due diligence and not really trying to make space equitable.
That being said, we’ll still celebrate the small steps for mankind.
In an event at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, USA, the space agency announced the names of the four astronauts who will voyage around the Moon in the second lunar mission since 1972.
Congratulations to Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Reid Wiseman of NASA, and Jeremy Hansen, as the #NASA Artemis 2 crew in ‘24! This is a great honor, a proud moment for you and for the nation. Your role in carrying out America’s effort in space will be one of high inspiration! pic.twitter.com/oTYpWgB6JY
— Dr. Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) April 3, 2023
Let’s meet them properly via BBC Science Focus:
- Christina Koch, [the lady], 44 (NASA) who holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. She is from Michigan and has completed 328 days in space since joining NASA in 2001. With a background in electrical engineering, Koch spent a year training at the South Pole.
- Jeremy Hansen, [the one in the front], 47 (CSA) who is the Canadian Space Agency’s astronaut, though in 2017 was put in charge of training new NASA astronauts as well as Canadians. While he was selected to be an astronaut in 2009, this will be his first flight assignment. “Imagine seeing our planet from space. It’s going to be amazing,” said Hansen in a video interview.
- Victor Glover, [the black dude], 46 (NASA), a naval aviator who completed his first spaceflight in 2021. He has spent 168 days in orbit and participated in four spacewalks. He hails from California and has an academic background in engineering.
- Reid Wiseman, [the one with the super square jaw], 47 (NASA) who is also a decorated naval aviator from Maryland. He was selected for NASA’s 20th astronaut class in 2009 and recently served as Chief of the Astronaut Office.
NASA Director of flight operations Norm Knight said that he could not be prouder that these brave four will kickstart NASA’s journeys to the Moon and beyond:
“They represent exactly what an astronaut corps should be: a mix of highly capable and accomplished individuals with the skills and determination to take on any trial as a team. The Artemis 2 mission will be challenging, and we’ll test our limits as we prepare to put future astronauts on the Moon. With Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy at the controls, I have no doubt we’re ready to face every challenge that comes our way.”
Artemis 2 is scheduled for launch late next year when the four astronauts will attempt to complete a lunar orbit aboard NASA’s Orion capsule and then return to Earth.
They will blast off from the Kennedy Space Center before an approximate travel time of four days to the Moon, flying by without stopping, before the four-day return journey when they will splash down into the Pacific Ocean.
The crew will also fly the furthest from Earth than the crew that travelled with Apollo 17 in 1972, going only 420 kilometres above Earth.
This will pave the way for the Artemis 3 mission which intends to send two astronauts to land on the Moon’s surface before 2030.
[source:bbcsciencefocus]