Artemis II Astronauts Training for Journey to the Moon
On Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at NASA, Artemis II astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Jeremy Hansen were preparing their journey around the Moon. Having a crew on board and circling the Moon will help NASA advance — or make progress — further.
NASA wants to land people on the Moon again, after many years. “Every milestone in the Artemis campaign brings us closer to landing Americans back on the Moon and pushing onward to Mars,” says Sean Duffy from NASA. According to one page originally published in 2023 by NASA, their goal is to “land the first woman, first person of color, and first international partner astronaut on the Moon using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before.”
As a result, the Artemis II astronauts prepared for the journey. They boarded the Orion spacecraft for specialist training. The crew was linked to the spacecraft and its control systems, letting them get ready for launch day and conduct simulations of possible situations. These help the astronauts adapt to the kit they’ll be using, and check all the tools and arrangements so that final improvements can be made if necessary.
In November 2022, Artemis I was successfully launched into orbit. It was sent without astronauts, although Shaun the Sheep went, and was made to thoroughly test the Moon journey kit. However, Artemis II is more advanced, since it has a crew and will orbit the Moon before leaving. Artemis III plans bring astronauts onto the lunar surface.
The Artemis II mission has been held up numerous times, as it resulted in delaying the journey until next year to fix a safety problem with its heat shield — burned chunks of it were unexpectedly severed.
The mission commander will be Reid Wiseman. He is a US Navy pilot who has been the head of NASA’s astronaut office as well. Back in 2015, he flew a mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
Christina Koch is an electrical engineer who has spent more time in space than any other woman. In October 2019, accompanied by Jessica Meir, she made the first all-female spacewalk. She also broke a record by acquiring the title for the longest single space travel by a woman.
Victor Glover is a US Navy test pilot. In 2013, he joined NASA and made his first space voyage in 2020.
Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen was a fighter pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force prior to joining the Canadian Space Agency. He hasn’t traveled into space yet, so this will be his first time.
SOURCES:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/c5yk5vqll58o
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/51387784
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/25/g-s1-55665/nasa-moon-dei-artemis
https://www.npr.org/2024/12/05/nx-s1-5218580/nasa-delays-artemis-human-moon-mission-heat-shield-investigation