Eighteen astronauts — nine men and nine women — have been selected to begin training for upcoming Artemis missions to the moon, Nasa announced Wednesday. The list includes the as-yet-unnamed next man and first woman who will set foot on the lunar surface later this decade.
US Vice President Mike Pence made the announcement, which was first reported in advance by Ars Technica, in Florida as part of an update on Nasa's Artemis program.
"I give you the heroes who will carry us to the Moon and beyond - the Artemis Generation," Pence said.
"It is amazing to think that the next man and first woman on the Moon are among the names that we just read. The Artemis Team astronauts are the future of American space exploration - and that future is bright."
The 18 astronauts named Wednesday are among the most diverse groups Nasa has ever put together: nine men, including four with space flight experience, and nine women, including five space veterans. Nine of the 18 have not yet flown in space.
The members are: Joseph Acaba, Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, Matthew Dominick, Victor Glover, Warren Hoburg, Jonny Kim, Christina Hammock Koch, Kjell Lindgren, Nicole Mann, Anne McClain, Jessica Meir, Jasmin Moghbeli, Kate Rubins, Frank Rubio, Scott Tingle, Jessica Watkins and Stephanie Wilson.
Nasa is in the final stages of testing the first Space Launch System moon rocket in Mississippi before the huge booster is shipped to Florida for launch late next year on an unpiloted maiden flight, sending an Orion capsule on a long, looping trip around the moon.
A second piloted flight with four astronauts aboard is planned in the 2023 timeframe to put the Orion capsule through its paces before a landing attempt on the Artemis 3 mission.
Nasa has been working toward a schedule imposed by the Trump administration calling for astronauts to return to the moon by the end of 2024 using the SLS, an Orion capsule and a commercially developed lunar lander that has not yet been built.
Even before US President Donald Trump's defeat in the 2020 presidential election, many observers considered the 2024 target date impossible to meet given a shortfall in funding for lander development in congressional budget negotiations.
