Artemis Crew
NASA’s plan to travel to the moon after decades will continue as planned if these piloted Artemis missions occur successfully. NASA wants the crew to test and perform trials aboard the ship that will eventually fly to the moon. Similar to the early Apollo missions, the purpose of this first manned Artemis mission to circle the moon and slingshot back to Earth after 10 days, will act as a great step toward NASA building a moon base.
May 19, 2023
With the release of the Artemis II crew, the Artemis program nears completion. With four of NASA’s top astronauts piloting this program, people perceive the journey around the moon as almost certain. This crew will obtain the honor as the most recent humans to visit the moon since the end of the Apollo program in 1975.
The commander of this crew, Reid Wiseman, will take a leadership role using experience from his time working as a Navy Captain. With his experience of spending long periods of time in space, because of his long stays aboard the ISS, he will feel right at home on the 10-day mission.
“It’s exciting to see the reveal of the Artemis missions because they provide a sort of inspiration to younger people like me. I’ve always wanted to work at NASA, and with all the technological advancements and accomplishments of the past few decades in space travel, really excites me,” sophomore Samuel Thompson said.
The Pilot of the mission, Victor Glover, will control the ship during its long journey. With a background in flying jets for the airforce, and flying the SpaceX Crew Dragon, the Artemis II will seem very familiar to Victor.
“I love following what all the space companies are doing, like Virgin, SpaceX, and NASA. I think it’s awesome NASA is trying to go back to the moon, and I’ve even heard that they are planning to build a space center on the moon, in the next decade. Doing that will make interstellar travel and travel within our solar system much easier. Access to Mars will be much greater as well,” sophomore Pavan Katragata said.
The Artemis II program contains two mission specialists, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. Christina is known for acting as one of the most influential female astronauts. She participated in the first all-female spacewalk and set the record for the longest time spent in space by a woman.
Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen is the only non- american on this mission. Coming from the Canadian CSA space program, Serving as a Canadian fighter pilot, and having a degree in physics, Jeremy is more than qualified for the mission.
As NASA approaches the launch date, NASA enthusiasts and fanatics feel excitement over the return to the moon after several decades. The Launch of Artemis II will begin the next stage of space travel, and the most significant one since the age of the space shuttle.
