NASA on Monday introduced the astronauts who will travel around the moon.
The astronauts — three Americans and one Canadian — will be the crew of Artemis II, an approximately 10-day mission that will travel around the moon before heading back to Earth.
Artemis II will be the first flight with crew aboard NASA’s deep space exploration system: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
KPRC 2 Anchors Owen Conflenti and Sofia Ojeda interviewed the four astronauts Tuesday morning on KPRC 2 News Today. Watch in the video player below.
During their mission, the astronauts will confirm all of the spacecraft’s systems operate as designed with people aboard in the actual environment of deep space.
Here’s a closer look at the four astronauts, with brief biographies provided by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA):
Christina H. Koch
Koch’s career prior to becoming an astronaut spanned two general areas: space science instrument development and remote scientific field engineering. Her career began as an electrical engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, where she contributed to scientific instruments on several NASA space science missions. Koch then became a research associate in the United States Antarctic Program from 2004 to 2007. This included a yearlong stay with a winter-over at the Admunsen-Scott South Pole Station and a season at Palmer Station. While in this role, she served as a member of the Firefighting and Search and Rescue Teams. From 2007 to 2009, Koch returned to space science instrument development as an electrical engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory’s Space Department. She contributed to instruments studying radiation for NASA missions, including Juno and the Van Allen Probes. In 2010, Koch returned to remote scientific field work with tours including Palmer Station in Antarctica and multiple winter seasons at Summit Station in Greenland. In 2012, Koch continued work at remote scientific bases with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She served as a Field Engineer at NOAA’s Global Monitoring Division Baseline Observatory in Utqiagvik, Alaska and then as Station Chief of the American Samoa Observatory. Throughout her career, she was involved in in technical instructing, volunteer tutoring and educational outreach.
Victor Glover
Following commissioning, Glover began preflight training in Pensacola, Florida, and completed his advanced flight training in Kingsville, Texas, earning his wings of gold on Dec. 14, 2001. In 2002, Glover reported to the Marine Fleet Replacement Squadron, VMFAT‐101, in Miramar, California. In 2003, after completing the F/A‐18C syllabus, he was assigned to the Blue Blasters of Strike Fighter Squadron VFA‐34 in Oceana, Virginia. With the Blue Blasters, he completed the final deployment of the USS John F. Kennedy (CV‐67) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While deployed, he completed a Space Systems Certificate from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS).
G. Reid Wiseman
Reid Wiseman served as flight engineer aboard the International Space Station for Expedition 41 from May through November of 2014. During the 165-day mission, Reid and his crewmates completed over 300 scientific experiments in areas such as human physiology, medicine, physical science, Earth science and astrophysics. They set a milestone for station science by completing a record 82 hours of research in a single week. This was Reid’s first spaceflight, which also included almost 13 hours as lead spacewalker during two trips outside the orbital complex. Reid also fostered a strong social media presence throughout his mission by sharing the raw emotions of spaceflight as seen through the eyes of a rookie flier. The Baltimore native earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Wiseman most recently served as the chief of the Astronaut Office.
Jeremy Hansen
Personal profile: Born Jan. 27, 1976, in London, Ontario, and raised on a farm near Ailsa Craig, Ontario, until moving to Ingersoll for his high school years. Colonel Hansen is married with three children. He enjoys sailboat cruising and racing, rock climbing and mountain biking.
Education: Jeremy Hansen holds a Bachelor of Science in Space Science (first class honors) from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario (1999). He earned a Master of Science in physics from the same institution in 2000, with a research focus on Wide Field of View Satellite Tracking.
Special honors: Air Cadet League of Canada Award – Top Air Force Graduate from the Royal Military College of Canada (May 1999), Clancy Scheldrup Memorial Trophy – Outstanding Graduate on the Basic Flying Course (2001), Canadian Air Force Pilot Wings (May 2002), Canadian Forces Decoration – 12 Years of Good Service (October 2006), The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), Gold Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (2014).