NASA welcomed 11 new astronauts to its ranks Friday, increasing the amount of these eligible for spaceflight assignments which will expand humanity’s horizons in space for generations to return . The new astronauts successfully completed quite two years of required military training and are the primary to graduate since the agency announced its Artemis program.
The new graduates could also be assigned to missions destined for the International space platform , the Moon, and ultimately, Mars. With a goal of sustainable lunar exploration later this decade, NASA will send the primary woman and next man to the surface on the Moon by 2024. Additional lunar missions are planned once a year thereafter and human exploration of Mars is targeted for the mid-2030s.
“These individuals represent the simplest of America, and what a fantastic time for them to hitch our astronaut corps,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston where the graduation ceremony happened . “2020 will mark the return of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil, and can be a crucial year of progress for our Artemis program and missions to the Moon and beyond.”
During Friday’s ceremony, each new astronaut received a silver pin, a practice dating back to the Mercury 7 astronauts, who were selected in 1959. they’re going to receive a gold pin once they complete their first spaceflights.
This was the primary public graduation ceremony for astronauts the agency has ever hosted, and Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas were among the speakers at the event.
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