Before too long at all, NASA will officially reveal the crew from Artemis II, the first crewed mission in decades to travel beyond Low Earth Orbit. The agency has yet to name the four astronauts that will make up the Artemis II crew, but that’s not stopping some cosmic insiders from getting their hands on the decision-making process.
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In a new report from CNN, it’s suggested one near-lock for the crew is astronaut Reid Wiseman. First joining NASA’s astronaut lineup in 2009, Wiseman previously served as a Naval aviator and test pilot before being named Chief of the Astronaut Office. Since astronauts in the position are unable to go into space, Reisman stepped down from the position last November in hopes of earning a spot on the Artemis II crew.
Because of a treaty between the United States and Canada, the Artemis II crew will be made up of three Americans and one Canadian. Should Reisman land one of the seats, that means two more astronauts on the craft will come from the NASA Astronaut Corps. Given NASA’s priority to diversify its Artemis missions, CNN suggests the shortlist will largely be made up of women and people of color.
The network even released its shortlist according to insiders, which includes astronauts Randy Bresnik, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Anne McClain, Jessica Meir, Stephanie Wilson, and Weisman. From that list, CNN says Glover and Bresnik are two of the leading contenders. On the Canadian side of things, it’s expected Jeremy Hansen, 47, will earn the seat.
NASA previously announced the Artemis II crew would be announced “early 2023,” though little more about the process is known beyond that. An initial batch of four astronauts is first determined by the Chief of the Astronaut Office, which is currently being led by Wiseman’s deputy Andrew Feustel. From there, that list is routed to Johnson Space Center Flight Operations Directorate boss Norm Knight before finally landing on the desk of Johnson Space Center director Vanessa Wyche.
Given the success of the uncrewed Artemis I mission last year, the Artemis II mission is set to follow a similar flight path before returning to Earth. Artemis III would then set boots on the Moon for the first time in decades.
