NASA has announced the four astronauts who will take part in its Artemis mission, the first crewed journey toward the moon in more than 50 years. The mission will send the team on a nearly 10-day flight around the moon, traveling farther into space than the Apollo astronauts, though it will not include a landing.

The crew consists of three Americans and one Canadian, reflecting a broader cross-section of the modern astronaut corps compared to the all-male, military test pilot teams of the Apollo program. The astronauts include mission commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

Wiseman, a former Navy captain and NASA’s former chief astronaut, will lead the mission. He previously spent more than five months aboard the International Space Station and said the decision to accept the assignment came after discussions with his two daughters following the death of his wife in 2020.

Glover, also a Navy captain and former combat pilot, will serve as pilot. As one of NASA’s Black astronauts, he has emphasized the importance of representation and sees the mission as an opportunity to inspire future generations. He previously flew on a SpaceX mission to the International Space Station.

Koch, an electrical engineer, holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at 328 days. She also participated in the first all-female spacewalk in 2019 and said the mission reflects broader progress in expanding opportunities within space exploration.

Hansen, a Canadian fighter pilot and physicist, will make his first trip to space while representing Canada on a lunar mission for the first time. Selected as an astronaut in 2009, he brings international partnership to the Artemis program.

The Artemis mission is intended to pave the way for future operations, including a planned docking exercise in Earth orbit and a subsequent crewed moon landing targeted for later in the decade. NASA officials say the program represents a renewed push to establish a sustained human presence on and around the moon.