• Raja Chari, an Indian-American US Air Force colonel, is among 18 astronauts, half of them women, who have been selected by NASA for its ambitious manned mission to the Moon and beyond.

• The modern lunar exploration programme — Artemis — will land the first woman and next man on the Moon in 2024 and establish a sustainable human lunar presence by the end of the decade. The Artemis programme is a stepping stone for NASA to prepare for historic first human mission to Mars. 

Artemis mission

• Artemis is a new NASA programme to explore the Moon. One of the astronauts on Artemis missions will be the first woman on the Moon.

Why is this programme called Artemis?

• The first missions to take astronauts to the Moon were called the Apollo Programme. The first astronauts landed on the Moon in 1969. Artemis is  Apollo’s twin sister and the goddess of the Moon in Greek mythology. 

What type of spacecraft will be used?

• NASA will use a powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the mission. SLS will carry Orion spacecraft on top. 

• Orion can carry up to four astronauts. Orion will fly around, or orbit, the Moon. A spaceship will be orbiting the Moon like the Moon orbits Earth. The spaceship will be called the Gateway. Orion will connect to the Gateway. Astronauts will go from Orion to the Gateway. This is where astronauts will live as they orbit the Moon. 

• The crew will take trips in spacecraft called landers to get to work on the surface of the Moon. Then they will return to Gateway. When all of their work is finished, the crew will return to Earth aboard Orion.

When will NASA launch the mission? 

The mission will have mainly three phases.

1) NASA is working toward launching Artemis I in 2021, an uncrewed flight to test the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft together.

2) Artemis II, the first crewed flight test is targeted for launch in 2022. It will send four astronauts to the lunar environment for the first time in more than 50 years.

3) NASA will land astronauts on the Moon by 2024 on the Artemis III mission and about once a year thereafter.

What will Artemis astronauts do on the Moon?

The Artemis III crew will visit the Moon’s South Pole. No one has ever been there. At the Moon, astronauts will:

• Search for the Moon's water and use it.

• Study the Moon to discover its mysteries.

• Learn how to live and work on a different planet or moon from Earth.

• Test the new tools NASA will need before sending astronauts on missions to Mars. 

• The data gathered by these payloads, coupled with Gateway operational experience, will be leveraged to enable sustainable lunar operations and successfully complete the first crewed mission to Mars. 

The Artemis Team

• NASA named the 18 astronauts who will train for its Artemis moon-landing programme.

• The astronauts on the Artemis Team come from a diverse range of backgrounds, expertise and experience. Most of the astronauts in the group are in their 30s or 40s. The oldest is 55, the youngest 32.

• Raja Chari, 43, a graduate of the US Air Force Academy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and US Naval Test Pilot School, is the only Indian-American in the list. 

• The other members on the list include Christina Koch and Jessica Meir — the two astronauts who performed the world's first all-female spacewalk last year.

• NASA will announce flight assignments for astronauts later, pulling from the Artemis Team. Additional team members, including international partner astronauts, will join this group, as needed.

• The selected astronauts will help NASA prepare for the coming Artemis missions, working with the agency’s commercial partners as they develop human landing systems, assisting in the development of training, defining hardware requirements and consulting on technical development. They also will engage the public and industry on NASA’s exploration plans.

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