'The best of humanity': NASA's Artemis II crew and their accomplishments so far

The Artemis II flight will be NASA's first crewed mission under the Artemis campaign, which aims to send astronauts to our sole natural satellite for endeavors both scientific and economic and for building the foundations for a crewed mission to Mars. Needless to say, the stakes are high. The astronauts handpicked for this mission? They "represent the best of humanity," according to NASA. Let's take a look at what each of them has accomplished as we count down to launch

Reid Wiseman: The Commander

Reid Wiseman is a 27-year Navy veteran, a pilot, and an engineer, selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2009. He served as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station for Expedition 41 from May to November 2014, as per NASA. He logged 165 days in space during the mission, and the crew completed more than 300 scientific experiments. Additionally, Reid also completed 13 hours as lead spacewalker for two trips outside the orbital complex. Reid was Chief of the Astronaut Office before being assigned as Commander of NASA’s Artemis II mission.

Victor Glover: The Pilot

Victor J. Glover, Jr., the pilot of the Artemis II mission, was serving as a legislative fellow in the United States Senate when he was selected as an astronaut in 2013, as per NASA. His most recent flight was as the pilot of the Crew-1 Dragon spacecraft, named Resilience, which flew to the International Space Station. He also served as flight engineer for Expedition 64/65, during which he conducted several scientific and outreach activities besides participating in four spacewalks. Glover is also a naval aviator and was a test pilot in the F/A‐18 Hornet, Super Hornet, and EA‐18G Growler. 

Christina Koch: Mission Specialist

Mission specialist Christina Koch became an astronaut in 2013. She lived and worked on the International Space Station for Expeditions 59, 60, and 61 for almost all of 2019, according to NASA. For this, she flew the Russian Soyuz rocket and trained hard in Russia. She has spent no less than 328 consecutive days in space, during which she participated in the first all-female spacewalks. She also served as Branch Chief of the Assigned Crew Branch in the Astronaut Office before being assigned to Artemis II.

Jeremy Hansen: Mission Specialist

Hansen, who will be making his first flight to space, will also be the first Canadian in history to fly to the Moon, according to the Government of Canada. In May 2009, he was one of the two people selected by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) as part of the third Canadian Astronaut Recruitment Campaign. After graduating from Astronaut Candidate Training, he started working as Capcom at the Mission Control Center. Later, in 2017, he became the first Canadian to lead a NASA astronaut class—a role that entailed training astronaut candidates from both the U.S. and Canada. 

With the launch window opening on February 6, 2026, the world is eagerly looking forward to these four astronauts taking the next big step for humanity. According to NASA, the 10-day mission will launch from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, conducting demonstration tests before heading to the lunar orbit.

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