KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – NASA and Vice President Mike Pence revealed the next group of astronauts who will step foot on the moon, some as soon as four years from now.
Pence announced the names of the first astronauts cadre to train for the next missions to the lunar surface under NASA’s Artemis program. Many of the astronauts already have spaceflight experience while for others a mission to the moon could be their first journey into space.
The announcement was made at the conclusion of the 8th National Space Council meeting at Kennedy Space Center, marking Pence’s final as chair of the council.
“All of those that were just named that are part of the Artemis generation, it really is amazing to think that the next man and the first woman on the moon are among the names that we just read and they may be standing in the room with us right now,” Pence said. “We started today reflecting on a great hero of the past. The Artemis generation are the heroes of American space exploration in the future would you join me in showing our appreciation for their great heroism and their character.”
Nine men and nine women make up what NASA is calling “The Artemis Team.” Nearly half of the astronauts stem from the 2017 NASA astronaut class.
These 18 were selected out of NASA’s 48 active astronauts.
Among those selected is astronaut Victor Glover and Kate Rubins, both who are currently on the International Space Station.
Meet the following astronauts:
- Joe Acaba, astronaut class 2004
- Kayla Barron, astronaut class 2017
- Raja Chari, astronaut class 2017
- Matthew Dominick, astronaut class 2017
- Victor Glover, astronaut class 2013
- Warren Hoburg, astronaut class 2017
- Jonny Kim, astronaut class 2017
- Christina Koch, astronaut class 2013
- Kjell Lindgren, astronaut class 2009
- Nicole Mann, astronaut class 2013
- Anne McCLain, astronaut class 2013
- Jessica Meir, astronaut class 2013
- Jasmine Moghbeli, astronaut class 2017
- Kate Rubins, astronaut class 2009
- Frank Rubio, astronaut class 2017
- Scott Tingle, astronaut class 2009
- Jessica Watkins, astronaut class 2017
- Stephanie Wilson, astronaut class 1996
You can read their biographies here.
In addition to naming the first Artemis astronauts, Pence revealed a new space policy from the White House and officially renamed Patrick Air Force Base as Patrick Space Force Base.
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