On April 3, NASA announced the names of the four astronauts, who’ll fly around the moon for the Artemis II mission in 2024.

The first member of the mission is astronaut Christina Koch. She started her career as an electrical engineer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and visited the International Space Station in 2019, where she took part in the first all-woman spacewalk.

Astronaut Jeremy Hansen would be representing the Canadian Space Agency on the mission. Hansen is currently working with NASA on astronaut training and mission operations and is all set for his first mission in space.

Astronaut Victor Glover is going to pilot the Orion spacecraft around the moon on the Artemis II mission. He was the pilot for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission and has logged 3,000 flight hours in more than 40 different aircraft.

The fourth astronaut to join the crew is Mission commander Reid Wiseman. He has previously lived and worked on the International Space Station as a flight engineer in 2014. He recently served as the chief of the NASA astronauts.

With this mission, NASA will land the first woman (Christina Koch) and the first person of colour (Victor Glover)on the moon.

US President Joe Biden congratulated the team and said, "The NASA Artemis II crewed mission around the Moon will inspire the next generation of explorers, and show every child – in America, in Canada, and across the world – that if they can dream it, they can be it."