NASA, the United States space agency had previously revealed that they are planning to take the first woman to the moon as a part of the Artemis mission. And now, reports suggest that Dr Jessica Meir, a Brown University graduate could be the first woman to land on the moon. Meir is one among 18 NASA astronauts who are currently undergoing training for the Artemis moon landing program.
Excited Meir shares her hope
In a recent interaction with NBC News 10, Meir revealed that she is thrilled about the opportunity, as history will mark her name as the first woman to walk on the lunar surface. Even though Meir's name is not finalized yet, she believes that it may be someone she knows who is going to land on the lunar surface, if she is not chosen.
"It is completely a privilege and so humbling to be part of this group. It may even be a colleague or close friend of mine, so the fact that we're there already identifying these individuals and making these concrete steps to go back to the moon is incredibly exciting for us," said Meir during the interview.
Artemis mission could go farther than Apollo missions
It was on July 20, 1969, that NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the lunar surface as a part of the Apollo missions. After landing on the moon, Armstrong delivered those iconic sentence, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". So far, 12 people have walked on the lunar surface, and until now, no woman has landed on the moon.
Meir revealed that the upcoming Artemis mission could go beyond Apollo missions, and it will help reshape the history of human space exploration.
"We're making those first steps. Hopefully, if the rest of the testing goes well, we'll have the Artemis I mission, which will first send the rocket and the spacecraft without people for a test, then the Artemis II mission, which will go out around the moon," added Meir.
According to space experts, the Artemis mission will play a crucial role in determining the success of future Mars colonization trips. These space experts believe that setting up a permanent human colony on the moon is very much necessary to develop a human base on Mars.
