
April 1 (Reuters) - All three NASA astronauts on the Artemis II lunar mission are veterans of Earth-orbit science expeditions to the International Space Station, while the lone Canadian joining them on a voyage around the moon and back is a spaceflight rookie.
Here are some highlights from the careers of mission commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch, all U.S. astronauts, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, also a mission specialist.
MISSION COMMANDER REID WISEMAN
Wiseman, 50, logged 165 days aboard the International Space Station during a 2014 mission, flying to the orbiting platform aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. A former U.S. Navy test pilot, he later served as NASA's chief astronaut before being selected to command Artemis II.
PILOT VICTOR GLOVER
Glover, 49, spent 168 days in orbit beginning in 2020 as pilot of NASA's Crew-1 flight, the first full-fledged ISS mission using SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule to carry astronauts to the space station. Before joining NASA, he flew more than 40 aircraft during a U.S. Navy career that included combat deployments and test-pilot duties. A veteran of four spacewalks, he is the first Black astronaut ever to be sent on a lunar mission.
MISSION SPECIALIST CHRISTINA KOCH
Koch, 47, set a record in 2019 for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman, spending 328 days aboard the ISS, and was part of NASA's first three all-female spacewalks. Trained as an electrical engineer and physicist, she previously worked as a NASA engineer and carried out extended research expeditions in Antarctica. She is the first woman to fly on a moon-bound mission.
MISSION SPECIALIST JEREMY HANSEN
Hansen, 50, a Royal Canadian Air Force colonel, is the first Canadian, and first non-U.S. citizen, sent on a lunar mission even as he makes his own first spaceflight. He was selected for Canada's astronaut corps in 2009, and his seat aboard Artemis II reflects a long-standing U.S.–Canadian partnership in human spaceflight, including Canada's contributions to robotics used aboard the ISS.
(Compiled by Joey Roulette in Cape Canaveral, Florida and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Jamie Freed)
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Solar storms have influenced our history – an environmental historian explains how they could also threaten our future - 2
Our favorite Space.com stories of 2025 - 3
Instructions to Floss Appropriately and Forestall Gum Sickness - 4
Pick Your #1 Kind Of Bread - 5
Report in relation to renaming Herzog Park set to be withdrawn
Palestinians tell BBC they were sexually abused in Israeli prisons
Explosions heard across Tehran after IDF announces wave of strikes on regime terror targets
Discovery of ancient pleasure boat reveals Egypt's maritime history
The Appearance of Experience: Embracing the Reduced Portage Horse
The 15 Most Powerful Forerunners in Business
Jasmine Crockett in, Colin Allred out: A major shakeup for Democrats in their quest to finally win a Senate seat in Texas
How to watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' for less with this Apple TV Black Friday deal
Conquering Language Boundaries: Individual Accounts of Multilingualism
Advocacy groups react after Mattel introduces 1st Barbie doll with autism












