Who Will Be the First Woman on the Moon?

The human race can see the moon in the night sky, but astronauts haven’t set foot on the lunar surface since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. NASA hopes to break that streak sometime in the next few years with the Artemis missions. In addition to bringing astronauts back to the Moon, Artemis will carry the first woman and the first person of color to the lunar surface.

What obstacles still lie ahead for the Artemis missions, and who will be the first woman on the moon?

Artemis Mission Timelines

NASA has been working on a plan to get astronauts back to the moon since 2017. Now, in 2022, launch day is fast approaching. What does the timeline for Artemis look like?

2022

NASA planned to launch the first full test of the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion capsule no earlier than May 2022, but issues with the wet dress rehearsal in April 2022 pushed the launch back to no earlier than August. Stuck valves on the mobile launch tower and a potentially dangerous hydrogen leak from one of the umbilical lines brought the tests to a halt.

Artemis 1 will send the uncrewed Orion capsule into orbit around the moon before splashing back down on Earth when it does launch.

2024

Assuming everything goes well with the Artemis 1 launch and return, Artemis 2 will launch sometime in 2024. This time, Orion will carry a crew. The capsule will follow the same path as the Artemis 1 mission, orbiting the moon before returning the astronauts safely home.

2025

Now things get exciting. The Artemis 3 mission will launch in 2025 and take astronauts back to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years.

Meeting the Artemis Team

In 2020, NASA announced they had selected the Artemis team – the pool that they would eventually choose the Artemis astronauts from ahead of the upcoming missions. These astronauts, in no particular order, include:

• Joseph Acaba — Became an astronaut in 2004. He has spent 306 days in space.
• Raja Chari — Became an astronaut in 2017. He is a U.S. Air Force colonel as well as a graduate of the Naval Test Pilot School.
• Matthew Dominick — Became an astronaut in 2017. He is a graduate of the Naval Test Pilot School and worked formerly as a developmental test pilot.
• Victor Glover — Became an astronaut in 2013. He piloted the Crew-1 Dragon Resilience.
• Warren Hoburg — Became an astronaut in 2017. He was a former assistant professor at MIT. 
• Jonny Kim — Became an astronaut in 2017. He’s a former Navy SEAL and also has a medical doctorate.
• Kjell Lindgren — Became an astronaut in 2009. He’s spent 141 days in space and used to support space shuttle and space station missions as a flight surgeon. As of the time of this writing (May 2022), he’s currently on the International Space Station.
• Frank Rubio — Became an astronaut in 2017. He’s worked as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot and a flight surgeon for the U.S. Army.
• Scott Tingle — Became an astronaut in 2009. He’s spent 168 days in space and is a Navy Test Pilot School graduate.

Women on the Artemis Team

• Kayla Barron — Became an astronaut in 2017. She is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy.
• Christina Koch — Became an astronaut in 2013. She also holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, which she set in 2020.
• Nichole A. Mann — Became an astronaut in 2013. She’s currently training to pilot the Boeing CST-100 Starliner.
• Anne McClain — Became an astronaut in 2013. She’s an aerospace engineer and has also spent 204 days in space.
• Jessica Meir — Became an astronaut in 2013. She’s a biologist who has spent 205 days in space.
• Jasmin Moghbeli — Became an astronaut in 2017. Before she transferred to NASA, she was a naval test pilot, testing H-1 helicopters.
• Kate Rubins — Became an astronaut in 2009. She’s a biologist and, notably, the first person to sequence DNA in space.
• Jessica Watkins — Became an astronaut in 2017. She has a doctorate in geology and has worked with NASA before as a scientist on the Curiosity Rover mission. She’s also currently (as of May 2022) on the International Space Station.
• Stephanie Wilson — Became an astronaut in 1996. She’s flown on three shuttle missions and has spent 42 days in space.

These brave and talented astronauts will be the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface in five decades. The Artemis 3 mission will carry four astronauts to the moon, and among them will be the first woman to reach our satellite.

Who Will Be the First Woman on the Moon?

It’s too early to tell who the first woman on the moon will be. NASA hasn’t made any official announcements, and currently, all of the members of Team Artemis are in training for a chance to be one of those astronauts chosen for the first crewed moon mission in decades.

Those who aren’t selected for Artemis 3 will still have the opportunity to reach the lunar surface, as NASA plans to set up a permanent base in the moon’s south polar region to serve as a launchpad to the rest of the solar system.

NASA has some incredible astronauts to choose from for the first crewed Artemis mission. The rest of the world is waiting with bated breath to see who will be the first woman on the moon.