NASA's New Astronauts Ready for Moon Missions Amid Artemis Program Upgrades

The recent graduation of a new astronaut class and successful tests of the Space Launch System's engines mark significant progress in NASA's lunar exploration efforts.

• NASA's new astronaut class, including candidates from the Canadian Space Agency and the United Arab Emirates, has completed 2.5 years of basic training, making them eligible for future moon missions and commercial space station projects.
• Artemis 2 moon astronauts celebrated a successful engine test for the RS-25, which will power future versions of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for moon missions.
• NASA is upgrading the SLS rocket for the Artemis program, with more powerful RS-25 engines and a larger version of the rocket, called Block 1B, to carry both crew and large hardware to the moon.
• The Artemis program faces technical delays and budgetary challenges, but the new astronauts and the Artemis team remain optimistic about future lunar exploration and the establishment of a long-term moon settlement.
• Artemis 2's mission, scheduled for no earlier than 2025, will send four astronauts around the moon, including the first woman and the first Black person to leave low Earth orbit.

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