A Grand Rapids woman will be among four astronauts traveling around the moon on NASA's Artemis II.
NASA and the Canadian Space Agency revealed the crew members for Artemis II’s mission on Monday morning: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist 1 Christina Hammock Koch, and Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen. They will work as a team to execute an ambitious set of demonstrations during the flight test.
Koch is a native of Grand Rapids, but grew up in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Prior to this mission, she served as flight engineer for Expedition 59, 60 and 61, setting a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, with a total of 328 days in space.
The 10-day Artemis II flight test will build upon the successful, uncrewed Artemis I mission which was completed in December, with the goal of paving the way for future, long-term human exploration missions.
“The Artemis II crew represents thousands of people working tirelessly to bring us to the stars. This is their crew, this is our crew, this is humanity's crew,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen, each has their own story, but, together, they represent our creed: E pluribus unum – out of many, one. Together, we are ushering in a new era of exploration for a new generation of star sailors and dreamers – the Artemis Generation.”
NASA said in a statement, the Artemis II mission will set the stage for the first woman and first person of color on the Moon through the Artemis program, paving the way for future for long-term human exploration missions to the Moon, and eventually Mars. This is the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration approach.
