NASA Announces Artemis III Crew: First Woman and First Person of Color Headed to the Moon
NASA announced the four-person crew for Artemis III, the mission that will return humans to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. The crew includes Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — a selection that represents both deep spaceflight experience and historic firsts, with Koch set to become the first woman and Glover the first person of color to walk on the Moon.
The Mission Profile
Artemis III is scheduled for late 2027, with the crew launching aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from Kennedy Space Center. The mission profile involves Orion traveling to lunar orbit, where two crew members will transfer to SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS) for the descent to the lunar surface near the Moon’s south pole — a region never before explored by humans.
The south pole was chosen for its scientific value. Permanently shadowed craters in this region contain confirmed water ice deposits, detected by NASA’s LCROSS impactor in 2009 and further mapped by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Understanding the distribution and extractability of lunar water is essential for NASA’s long-term goal of establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon — water can be used for drinking, oxygen generation, and as hydrogen fuel for future deep-space missions.
The surface stay is planned for approximately 6.5 days — far longer than any Apollo mission. During that time, Koch and one other crew member will conduct up to four spacewalks, collecting geological samples, deploying scientific instruments, and testing technologies for future long-duration lunar habitation.
The Crew
Commander Reid Wiseman is a Navy test pilot and former ISS commander with 165 days in space. Pilot Victor Glover flew on SpaceX’s Crew-1 mission as the first African American crew member for a long-duration ISS stay — his selection for Artemis III extends that historic record. Christina Koch holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (328 days on ISS) and was part of the first all-female spacewalk. Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, an F-18 fighter pilot, becomes the first non-American assigned to a lunar mission — reflecting the international nature of the Artemis program.
What the Mission Means
Artemis III serves multiple purposes beyond symbolism. It validates SpaceX’s Starship HLS for crewed operations, tests the Orion-to-Starship crew transfer in lunar orbit, demonstrates new spacesuit technology (Axiom Space’s AxEMU suits), and begins the scientific characterization of the lunar south pole. Every Artemis III objective feeds directly into Artemis IV and V, which will begin assembling the Lunar Gateway space station and establish the first permanent human outpost beyond low Earth orbit.
The program also has geopolitical dimensions. China’s space agency is pursuing its own crewed lunar landing, targeted for 2030. A successful Artemis III would ensure the US-led international coalition reaches the Moon first in this new era of space exploration, shaping norms for resource utilization and territorial claims under the Artemis Accords — a multilateral framework now signed by 41 nations.
Key Aspects
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