NASA on Monday unveiled the crew for its first human mission to the Moon in more than 50 years, including the first woman and Black man to voyage into deep space. The 4-member Artemis II crew includes Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Victor Glover. After the historic announcement, US President Joe Biden spoke to the Artemis II crew over a phone call to wish them well on their adventure to the Moon. Mr Biden also invited them and their children to visit him at the White House.
A video of their telephonic conversation was shared on President Biden's official Twitter account with a caption that reads, ''The @NASA Artemis II crewed mission around the Moon will inspire the next generation of explorers, and show every child – in America, in Canada, and across the world – that if they can dream it, they can be it."
Watch the video here:
During the call, Mr Biden told the crew, ''Look, I want to thank you for your incredible service. The mission you are about to go on, the United States can return people to the Moon. It's hard to believe for the first time in over 50 years. And the worst part is I can remember exactly where I was when they announced that the man has landed on the Moon. Doesn't mean I am old, just means you are moving quickly,'' followed by laughter.
The crew then responds by saying, ''We definitely want to start, the crew would like to start with..Thank you very much for your trust. We will make both of our nations, US and Canada proud in this mission. There are thousands of people across both nations and actually around the world working to get Artemis II off the pad successfully. And just thank you for placing your trust and our nation's trust in this crew.''
The President then invited their children to visit the White House. He addressed them and said, ''Well, I will tell you what, you must be proud of your mom and your dads. It's just incredible.''
Notably, astronaut Christina Hammock Koch, an engineer who already holds the record for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman, will become the first woman to embark on a journey to the Moon. She will be joined by Victor Glover, a U.S. Navy aviator and veteran of four spacewalks who NASA has designated as pilot of Artemis II. He will be the first Black astronaut ever to be sent on a lunar mission.
Artemis II will venture some 6,400 miles (10,300 km) beyond the far side of the moon before returning, marking the closest pass humans have made to Earth's natural satellite since Apollo 17, which carried Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt to the lunar surface in December 1972.
