NASA announces astronauts for the Artemis II Moon mission: live updates

The four astronauts are: Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Reed Wiseman of NASA, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

Reed Wiseman, Cmdr

Until recently, J. Reed Wiseman, 47, served as chief astronaut at NASA, which meant he was responsible for selecting the four astronauts who flew on the Artemis II spaceship. But he resigned from that position last November, and is now eligible for assignment to the crews of the Artemis missions to the moon.

Selected as part of the Astronaut Class of 2009, Mr. Wiseman, a captain in the US Navy, spent 165 days in orbit on the International Space Station in 2014. Prior to joining NASA, he served twice in the Middle East.

Victor Glover, pilot

Victor J. Glover Jr., 46, was the pilot for the first operational mission of a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule to the International Space Station from November 2020 to May 2021. He spent 168 days on the space station. He was the first black man appointed as a crew member on the station – he participated in four spacewalks. Mr. Glover, a captain in the US Navy, was selected to be an astronaut in 2013.

Originally from Pomona, California, Mr. Glover graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in General Engineering from California Polytechnic State University in 1999. From 2007 through 2010, he earned three master’s degrees: in flight test engineering, systems engineering, and military operational arts and sciences.

Mr. Glover is often referred to by his peers as Ike, a reference to a call sign given to him by a former commanding officer which means “I know it all”.

Christina Koch, Mission Specialist

Koch, 44, holds the record for the longest solo spaceflight by a woman — 328 days — and she, along with another active female astronaut, Jessica Meir, performed the first of three spacewalks in 2019 and 2020. She also has other spacewalks. Its six spaceflights lasted 42 hours and 15 minutes.

Prior to her selection as an astronaut in 2013, Ms. Koch worked as an electrical engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. She later became a researcher for the United States Antarctic Program, which included a one-year residency at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Other places she has worked include the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with time in Alaska and American Samoa.

Jeremy Hansen, Mission Specialist

Jeremy Hansen is one of four active Canadian astronauts. He was selected by the Canadian Space Agency to be an astronaut in 2009. He is 47 years old and was born in Ontario.

Colonel Hansen, who served as a fighter pilot in the Canadian Armed Forces, has yet to fly into space. In his time representing the Canadian Space Agency at NASA, he served as a capsule communicator between Mission Control in Houston and astronauts aboard the International Space Station. He was also the first Canadian assigned to lead an astronaut class.