The Artemis II mission may launch soon. Four astronauts (three Americans and one Canadian) will fly around the Moon. Who are they, and what was their path to participating in the most important space expedition in recent decades?
The Artemis II mission crew
The Artemis II crew
In the 20th century, humans visited the Moon. However, since 1972, no astronaut has flown further than a few hundred kilometers from Earth. But in February, everything may change. The launch of the Artemis II mission is scheduled for that day. The SLS rocket will send the Orion spacecraft with four astronauts on board on a journey around our planet’s satellite.
The Artemis II mission is intended to be the second step after the unmanned Artemis I mission toward returning humans to the Moon. It will be followed by a landing at the Moon’s south pole and the construction of a base on its surface. It is entirely possible that in the future, the four astronauts of this mission will be remembered among the heroes who became the first in their systematic exploration.
But for now, all attention is focused on Gregory Weisman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. They will be the first people in decades to see the far side of the Moon with their own eyes, rather than through probe cameras.
But what was the path of these people to the Artemis II mission? Each has its own, and each deserves to be told separately.
The Artemis II crew during training. Source: www.asc-csa.gc.ca
Gregory Weisman
The commander of the Artemis II mission is Gregory Weisman. He is 51 years old and comes from Baltimore, Maryland. After graduating from high school, he studied at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and systems engineering.
Immediately after graduating from university, Weisman enlisted in the military and soon became a naval aviator. In this capacity, he participated in combat operations in the Middle East during the multinational forces’ operation in Iraq. In 2003, he began training at the Naval Test Pilot School and soon obtained the relevant qualification. Weisman went on to serve as chief of staff of the 103rd Fighter Attack Squadron, based on the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower. He is currently a captain in the US Navy (equivalent to a colonel in the Army or Air Force).
Gregory Weisman. Source: Wikipedia
At the same time, Weisman studied and in 2006 received a master’s degree in systems engineering. He did all this for a reason. Back in 2003, the command nominated him for the 19th astronaut selection conducted by NASA, but at that time, he was not called for the selection process.
But in 2009, his efforts were recognized, and he became an astronaut in the 20th recruitment. Training began. A few years later, it was decided that Weisman would fly to the ISS aboard a Russian spacecraft. On May 28, 2014, Soyuz TMA-13M launched. Gregory spent six months at the station, made two spacewalks, and returned to Earth in November of that year.
Weisman then continued to work at NASA. In 2016, he spent two weeks living in an underwater station as part of his training for working in extreme conditions. In 2020, he was appointed head of the Astronaut Office, but left the position two years later to return to training as an astronaut.
Weisman is married and has two daughters.
Weissman is working on the ISS. Source: Wikipedia
Victor Glover
Victor Glover is the pilot for the Artemis II expedition. He is 49 years old and, like Weissman, he is a captain, i.e., a colonel in the US Navy. He played sports in high school, but his father, an engineer, and his grandfather, a military pilot, ultimately determined his path in life. In 1999, Glover graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a bachelor’s degree in general engineering.
Immediately after that, he began flight training and soon became a naval aviation pilot. Glover flew over 3,000 hours on various aircraft and made 24 combat sorties. In 2006, he completed his training as a fighter pilot, but even then, he was thinking about becoming an astronaut. That is why, from 2007 to 2010, he received three master’s degrees: in flight test engineering, systems engineering, and military operational art. In 2012, Glover became a representative of the Navy in the US Congress, and in 2013, he was selected as an astronaut. He began training, and in 2018, he was selected to participate in the first manned mission of the Dragon V2 spacecraft.
The expedition began on November 16, 2020, and lasted until May 2, 2021. During this time, Glover made four spacewalks. The total time he spent outside the station was 27 hours.
After returning, Glover continued to work at NASA. He is married and has two daughters.
Victor Glover. Source: Wikipedia
Christina Koch
Christina Koch, flight specialist, is the only woman and only civilian member of the Artemis II crew. She is 47 years old, from Michigan, and has dreamed of becoming an astronaut since childhood. In 2001, she earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and physics from the University of North Carolina. A year later, she earned a master’s degree in the same field from the same university. Koch then began working at the Goddard Space Flight Center, where she studied high-energy astrophysics.
From 2004 to 2007, Koch worked on NASA’s Antarctic program, spending the winter on the frozen continent, where she worked not only as a scientist but also as part of a rescue team.
In 2007–2009, she returned to purely space-related topics at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. There, she worked on technical issues related to the Juno spacecraft, which is currently exploring Jupiter. In addition to science, Koch was actively involved in sports: rock climbing, hiking, and sailing.
Christina Koch. Source: Wikipedia
After that, she worked again at stations in Antarctica and Greenland, at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Then, in 2013, she, like Glover, was selected for the astronaut training program.
Koch made her first and only flight to date in 2019 aboard Soyuz MS-12. At that time, it was expected that she, like everyone else, would spend six months at the station. However, her stay there was later extended, as a result of which she set a record for the duration of a single space flight among women – 328 days, 13 hours, and 58 seconds. It remains unbroken to this day.
After returning to Earth, Koch continued her training as an astronaut. In 2020, she received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater. Koch is married and lives with her husband in Texas.
Jeremy Hansen
Flight specialist Jeremy Hansen is the only non-American on board. If everything goes according to plan, he will become the first Canadian to fly around the Moon, and Canada will become the second country, after the US, to have a citizen travel more than a few hundred kilometers away from Earth.
Jeremy Hansen. Source: Wikipedia
Hansen is 50 years old and was born in the Canadian province of Ontario. He graduated from the Royal Military College and earned a bachelor’s degree in space science in 1999. He then served in the Royal Canadian Air Force and flew fighter jets. In 2006, he earned a master’s degree in the same field.
In 2009, he was selected to train as a Canadian astronaut. In this capacity, he participated in several interesting missions. For example, in 2013, he and his European colleagues underwent survival training at the bottom of caves. Then, like Weisman, he lived underwater for several days. He has not yet flown into space, but was part of the support crew for one of the missions to the ISS.
Hansen is married and has two daughters and a son.
As can be seen from the above, all members of the Artemis II crew are highly experienced individuals. They have all come a long way to reach this mission and are well deserving of their participation in it.