During a news briefing at the Johnson Space Center on Friday , a NASA functionary revealed that all combat-ready NASA spaceman are eligible to take part in the Artemis Moon program , disregarding of age .
“ The way I look at it , any one of our 42 alive cosmonaut is eligible for an Artemis missionary post , ” Reid Wiseman , principal spaceman at NASA , said on Friday , according to SpaceNews . “We want to tack the correct squad for this mission . ” This is an unexpected change of plans for the infinite agency , which hailed aselect squad of astronauts for its Artemis programearlier in December 2020 ( though under previous NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine ) . “ I give you the hero of the time to come who will carry us back to the Moon and beyond , ” then Vice President Mike Pence said during the unveiling of the Artemis Team .
The Artemis Team included nine women , reflecting NASA ’s desire to land the first woman on the Moon as part of the Artemis 3 mission ( currently schedule to launch no earlier than 2025 ) . Among the team member were Christina Koch and Jessica Meir , who take part in thefirst all - distaff spacewalks , as well as Jessica Watkins , the first smuggled woman to to ship on a longterm mission in space and the first tolive and employment on the ISS .
The latest class of NASA astronauts was selected out of more than 12,000 applicants.Photo: NASA
At the time , however , NASA did emphasise that this was an initial squad of astronaut nominee who may go to the Moon as part of the Artemis 2 and 3 missions , and that more candidate would be lend later . But now , the space agency seems to be lean towards keep the Artemis behind open to all of its current astronauts , as well as 10 additional spaceman who are still in training . “ We have 42 active spaceman here in Houston and 10 spaceman candidates who will be beating down the room access for Artemis 2 and beyond , ” Wiseman said during the briefing . Wiseman added that all NASA astronauts will qualify for Artemis regardless of long time , saying it does n’t matter if they ’re in their later twenty dollar bill or mid - sixties .
In December 2021 , NASA selected its most recentclassof astronaut candidates who began their two year training in January 2022 . After dispatch their training , the candidate will each be assigned a mission , which could now include theArtemis missions to the Moon .
NASA is presently gearing up for the maiden launch of Artemis 1 , which could happen as presently as August 29 . A Space Launch System rocket is slated to institutionalize an uncrewed Orion capsule on a 272,000 - mile ( 437,000 - kilometer ) journey to the Moon and back . Artemis 2 will include a gang , but wo n’t land on the Moon . That ’s the job of the Artemis 3 crew , reaching the lunar surface after more than 50 years . The Artemis program is designed to maintain a unconstipated spaceman presence at and around the Moon , so it ’s likely that many more astronauts will be added to this lean in the future tense .
More : NASA ’s Artemis Era Could Officially start in Just 6 Weeks
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