Fantastic Four: NASA announces astronauts for Artemis II moon mission

Come November 24, the astronauts will create history as the first crew to the moon of the 21st century. The Artemis II mission will follow Artemis I, an uncrewed test mission that set forth on the Orion capsule on November 16, 2022, and concluded on December 11, 2022. It intended to "demonstrate Orion’s systems in a spaceflight environment and ensure a safe re-entry, descent, splashdown, and recovery prior to the first flight with crew on Artemis II," according to NASA.

Flying them to the Moon

The 10-day Artemis II flight test will launch on the agency's Space Launch System rocket, prove Orion's life-support system, and confirm the techniques required for humans to live and work in deep space.

Wiseman, 47, who served previously as a flight engineer aboard the International Station for Expedition 41 from May through November 2014, will be embarking on his second trip to space with Artemis II. He has logged more than 165 days in space, including almost 13 hours as lead spacewalker during two trips outside the orbital complex.

The mission will also be 46-year-old Glover's second spaceflight. He served previously as a pilot on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1, which landed on May 2, 2021, after 168 days in space. Glover served as a flight engineer aboard the space station for Expedition 64 and participated in four spacewalks.

Forty-four-year-old Koch, who has been on six spacewalks, is a record-holder for the longest single spaceflight by a woman with a total of 328 days in space and participated in the first all-female spacewalks. She served as a flight engineer aboard the space station for Expeditions 59, 60, and 61, and will be making her second flight into space on the Artemis II mission.

Non-American Hansen will be making his first space flight. The 47-year-old, who will be representing Canada, is a colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and a former fighter pilot. In 2017, he became the first Canadian to be entrusted with leading a NASA astronaut class, leading the training of astronaut candidates from the United States and Canada.

"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," Norm Knight, director of Flight Operations, at NASA Johnson, said.

Moon first, Mars second

Artemis II is expected to pave the way for the Artemis III mission, for which NASA is targeting a 2025 launch date. Delays, however, will likely push the mission to 2026 or later.

For more than a decade, NASA has been working behind the scenes to return people to the moon. The Artemis missions — which could go on to at least Artemis VIII — are hoped to eventually clear the way for the first crewed Mars mission.