NASA selects Indian-American astronaut for manned mission to Moon

Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari an IndianAmerican 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 beyondThe modern lunar exploration programme 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 American space agency saidNASA on Wednesday named the 18 astronauts who will train for its Artemis moonlanding programmeChari 43 a graduate of the US Air Force Academy Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT and US Naval Test Pilot School is the only IndianAmerican in the listHe was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate ClassHe reported for duty in August 2017 and having completed the initial astronaut candidate training is now eligible for a mission assignmentMy fellow Americans I give you the heroes of the future who will carry us back to the Moon and beyond the Artemis Generationiquest Vice President Mike Pence said at NASAs Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on WednesdayIt really is amazing to think that the next man and the first woman on the Moon are among the names that we just read We started today reflecting on a great hero of the past The Artemis Generation are the heroes of American space exploration in the futureiquest Pence said after he introduced the members of the Artemis Team during the eighth National Space Council meetingThe 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 32NASA will announce flight assignments for astronauts later pulling from the Artemis Team Additional Artemis Team members including international partner astronauts will join this group as neededWe are incredibly grateful for the president and vice presidents support of the Artemis program as well as the bipartisan support for all of NASAs science aeronautics research technology development and human exploration goals said NASA Administrator Jim BridenstineAs a result were excited to share this next step in exploration iquest naming the Artemis Team of astronauts who will lead the way which includes the first woman and next man to walk on the lunar surface he addedThe selected astronauts will help NASA prepare for the coming Artemis missions which begin next year working with the agencys 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 NASAs exploration plansThere is so much exciting work ahead of us as we return to the moon and it will take the entire astronaut corps to make that happen Chief Astronaut Pat Forrester saidWalking on the lunar surface would be a dream come true for any one of us and any part we can play in making that happen is an honour he saidThe other members on the list include Christina Koch and Jessica Meir the two astronauts who performed the worlds first allfemale spacewalk last yearKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever