liftoff

One of these women will be the first to set foot on the Moon

And they will not be the last.

by Passant Rabie

Shutterstock

It's been more than 50 years since humanity first landed on the Moon.

If all goes according to plan, we're headed back there by 2024.

NASA's upcoming Artemis mission is scheduled to send the next man and the first woman to the Moon. It's a huge step for the agency with a spotty history.

NASA has selected 18 astronaut candidates for the Artemis Team, two of whom will take on this historic endeavor.

Artemis Team, assemble!

NASA

“I give you the heroes who will carry us to the Moon and beyond – the Artemis Generation,” Vice President Mike Pence said at the unveiling. “The Artemis Team astronauts are the future of American space exploration – and that future is bright."

“We represent all walks of life in America and every kid in America, and across the world"

Only the last year did a woman conduct a "spacewalk" procedure outside of the International Space Station. Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir made history on October 18, 2019, by doing some zero-gravity maintenance work on the spacecraft.

When NASA set its eyes back at the Moon, inclusion was part of the mission.

The Artemis mission will be one like no other, setting the stage for a permanent lunar base on the Moon that will help space agencies go further — to places like Mars.

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