Business · Fortune Technology
NASA promises to announce the Artemis III crew “soon.” Like 1969’s Apollo 9
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Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart loved flying the lunar module in low-Earth orbit — “a test pilot’s dream.” But there’s no question, he noted, that “the real astronauts” at least in the public’s mind were the ones who walked on the moon.
Key facts
- Two astronauts will aim for the south polar region, the preferred location for Isaacman’s envisioned $20 billion to $30 billion moon base
- NASA promises to announce the Artemis III crew “soon.” Like 1969’s Apollo 9, Artemis III aims to reduce risk for the moon landings that follow
- Author Andy Chaikin said he felt like Rip Van Winkle awakening from a nearly 54-year nap
- Musk’s Starship and Bezos’ Blue Moon are vying for the all-important Artemis IV moon landing in 2028
Summary
Never-before-glimpsed views of the moon’s far side. With NASA’s lunar comeback a galactic-sized smash thanks to Artemis II, the world is wondering: What’s next? “To people all around the world who look up and dream about what is possible, the long wait is over,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said as he introduced Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen at Saturday’s jubilant homecoming celebration. Now that the first lunar travelers in more than a half-century are safely back in Houston with their families, NASA has Artemis III in its sights. “The next mission’s right around the corner,” entry flight director Rick Henfling observed following the crew’s Pacific splashdown on Friday.