After 50 years, 4 humans are going to the Moon
What's the story
The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission, the first manned lunar orbit in over half a century, is gearing up for their historic journey. The team includes three American astronauts - Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch - and Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency. Each crew member will carry personal items on this monumental expedition.
Astronaut #1
Reid Wiseman will commnd the mission
Reid Wiseman, a US Navy test pilot and former International Space Station flight engineer, will command the Artemis II mission. He plans to take a small notepad with him on the journey. This is to record his thoughts during the mission. Wiseman, who lost his wife to cancer in 2020 and has since been raising their two teenage daughters alone, sees this as an opportunity for humanity's future exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Astronaut #2
Christina Koch: First woman to travel to Moon
Mission specialist Christina Koch, an engineer and physicist who holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, will be the first woman to travel to the Moon. She is taking handwritten notes from her loved ones as a personal item. This tactile connection with Earth serves as a reminder of home during the mission. Koch's inspiration for becoming an astronaut came from Bill Anders's famous 'Earthrise' picture taken during Apollo 8 in 1968.
Astronaut #3
Jeremy Hansen: First non-American to travel to Moon
Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, a former Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot and physicist, will be the first non-American to travel to the Moon. He is taking four Moon-shaped pendants for his wife and three children as a personal item. The pendants are engraved with the phrase "Moon and back" and set with their birthstones. Hansen hopes this milestone will show how far international cooperation in space has come since Apollo.
Astronaut #4
Victor Glover: First black person to travel to Moon
Pilot Victor Glover, a former US Navy fighter and test pilot who was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013, is the first black person to travel to the Moon. He plans to take his Bible, wedding rings, family heirlooms and a collection of inspirational quotes compiled by Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart on this historic journey. Glover has been studying original Gemini and Apollo journal papers from the 1960s for engineering and piloting lessons that may still apply today.