NASA launches first crewed lunar mission in half a century
World
Four astronauts blasted off from Florida on Wednesday on NASA's Artemis II mission, a high‑stakes 10-day trip around the moon
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) – Four astronauts blasted off from Florida on Wednesday on NASA's Artemis II mission, a high‑stakes 10-day trip around the moon that marks the United States' boldest step yet toward returning humans to the lunar surface this decade before China's first crewed landing.
All three NASA astronauts on the Artemis II lunar mission are veterans of Earth-orbit science expeditions to the International Space Station, while the lone Canadian joining them on a voyage around the moon and back is a spaceflight rookie.
Here are some highlights from the careers of mission commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch, all US astronauts, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, also a mission specialist.
MISSION COMMANDER REID WISEMAN
Wiseman, 50, logged 165 days aboard the International Space Station during a 2014 mission, flying to the orbiting platform aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. A former US Navy test pilot, he later served as NASA's chief astronaut before being selected to command Artemis II.
PILOT VICTOR GLOVER
Glover, 49, spent 168 days in orbit beginning in 2020 as pilot of NASA's Crew-1 flight, the first full-fledged ISS mission using SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule to carry astronauts to the space station. Before joining NASA, he flew more than 40 aircraft during a US Navy career that included combat deployments and test-pilot duties. A veteran of four spacewalks, he is the first Black astronaut ever to be sent on a lunar mission.
MISSION SPECIALIST CHRISTINA KOCH
Koch, 47, set a record in 2019 for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman, spending 328 days aboard the ISS, and was part of NASA's first three all-female spacewalks. Trained as an electrical engineer and physicist, she previously worked as a NASA engineer and carried out extended research expeditions in Antarctica. She is the first woman to fly on a moon-bound mission.
MISSION SPECIALIST JEREMY HANSEN
Hansen, 50, a Royal Canadian Air Force colonel, is the first Canadian, and first non-US citizen, sent on a lunar mission even as he makes his own first spaceflight. He was selected for Canada's astronaut corps in 2009, and his seat aboard Artemis II reflects a long-standing US-Canadian partnership in human spaceflight, including Canada's contributions to robotics used aboard the ISS.
REACTIONS
Here are some reactions.
US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP IN ADDRESS TO NATION:
"Let me begin by congratulating the team at NASA and our brave astronauts on the successful launch of Artemis II. It was quite something.
"It will be travelling further than any manned rocket has ever flown and will very substantially pass the moon, go around it and come back home from a distance that has never been done before.
"It's amazing. They are on their way and god bless them, these are brave people. God bless those four unbelievable astronauts."
NASA ADMINISTRATOR JARED ISAACMAN AT PRESS CONFERENCE:
"So after a brief 54-year intermission, NASA is back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon.
"We arrived at this point through a sustained effort, a national commitment, and the work of thousands across the agency, our industry partners and our international allies."
CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER MARK CARNEY IN A STATEMENT:
"Today, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Colonel Jeremy Hansen makes history as the first Canadian to venture to the Moon.
"With Artemis II, Canada becomes only the second nation on Earth to send an astronaut on a lunar mission.
"This remarkable achievement is a testament to Colonel Hansen's exceptional skill, and to the decades of discipline, dedication, and perseverance that brought him to this moment.
"It is also a testament to Canada and our world-class science, our cutting-edge technology, and our remarkable astronauts."
FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON ON X:
"With Artemis II, more than fifty years after Apollo 17, the Moon once again becomes that gathering place for peoples who pool their resources and dare to dream.
"French, Europeans, we can be proud to take part in this extraordinary adventure by playing a key role thanks to the European service module developed by the European Space Agency."
RETIRED ASTRONAUT AND FORMER NASA ADMINISTRATOR CHARLIE BOLDEN TO REUTERS:
"It was incredible to see. I'm an emotional person, just tears of joy, thinking about all the people that have been working to this day for more than a decade just to get here. Very proud.
"I hope that in the morning when I wake up and I watch all the news coverage, no matter what country it's coming from, people will be saying, 'We are on our way back to the moon.' We are on our way back to the moon."
