Meet the diverse astronaut crew heading to the Moon

The commander of Nasa's next mission to the Moon said that he and his crew would "see things that no human has ever seen".

Reid Wiseman told a news conference that it was likely that his spacecraft would fly over large areas of the Moon that previous Apollo missions had never mapped.

Yesterday, Nasa announced it hoped it would be able to launch the first crewed Moon mission in 50 years as early as February 2026.

Mission specialist Christina Koch explained that the astronauts would be able to study the lunar surface in exquisite detail for a full three hours.

"Believe it or not, human eyes are one of the best scientific instruments that we have," she said.

"Our geologists are beyond excited for our eyes to look at the Moon, and we've been training how to turn those observations into answering some of the biggest questions of our time, questions like 'Are we alone?' We can answer that by going to Mars in the future, and this mission can be the first step in bringing that answer back to team humanity."

The Artemis II mission is the second launch of the Artemis programme, whose aim is to land astronauts and eventually establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface.

Commander Reid told reporters the name the crew had given to their spacecraft and why they chose it.

"Peace and hope for all humankind, that is what we really want. We are bringing together the world, and when you squeeze it all down, it will create magic. So we're going to fly around the Moon in the spacecraft 'Integrity'.

All four astronauts said they took inspiration from the Apollo Moon missions of the 1960s and early 1970s.

Read more about the four astronauts below.

Christina Koch decided to become an astronaut after seeing a picture of the Earth taken by Bill Anders, a crew member of the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. For her, the Artemis II flight is literally a dream come true because it, just like Apollo 8, will fly around the Moon to help pave the way for a Moon landing.

Although Christina was born 11 years after the photograph was taken, she kept a poster of the Earth rising above the lunar surface. Just as that moment inspired a generation living through the 1960s, she said in a Nasa interview that she hoped her mission would enable a new generation to live though what they lived through and, as it did at the time, make the world a more optimistic place.

"The fact that it was a human behind that lens made that picture so much more profound and changed the way we thought of our own home," she said.

"The Moon was not just a symbol for thinking about our place in the universe, it is a beacon for science and understanding where we came from."

Christina was an engineer who became an astronaut in 2013. She lived and worked on the International Space Station for almost all of 2019, spending a total of 328 consecutive days in space and famously participated in the first all-female spacewalk. Her hobbies include surfing, rock and ice climbing, programming, community service, triathlons, yoga, backpacking, woodworking, photography and travel.

Christina is set to be the first woman to go to the Moon.

This will be the first time Jeremy Hansen will have been in space. He too was inspired by the astronauts on Apollo 8. At the time the world was riven with wars and conflict.

"When they flew around the Moon just before Christmas in 1968 there was a lot going on the world, and people realised it was a really tough time. People were struggling in many different ways and and I think we can all resonate with that today.

"And I remember reading about a postcard that Bill Anders got when he got back, and it just simply, all that was written on it was, 'you saved 1968'."

With his Buzz Lightyear-like square jaw and clean-cut appearance, he comes across as the archetypical heroic astronaut. As a Canadian, he is set to become the first non-American to go to the Moon.

His message is one of unity and inspiration not just for the US, but the entire world.

"The Artemis missions have set such an ambitious goal for humanity that is inspiring contributions from around the World, not just one nation is inspired and moved by this, but nations around the globe are coming together".

Jeremy was a fighter pilot, physicist and aquanaut before he joined the Canadian Space Agency in 2009. During his time with the CSA, he became the first Canadian to lead astronaut training at Nasa's Johnson Space Centre. He is married with three children and enjoys sailing, rock climbing, and mountain biking.

Those who have met Victor say he is the most charismatic of the quartet and the most sharply dressed, with designer brown leather boots making him look good even in an orange flight suit.

"Pushing ourselves to explore is core to who we are," he says in a Nasa interview. It is part of being human."

Like is fellow crew, his words hark back to a bygone space age, and the words of then President John F. Kennedy in 1962: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win."

Victor goes on to say: "It is in our nature. We go out to explore, to learn where we are, why we are, understanding the big questions about our place in the universe."

Victor's call sign is IKE, which is reputedly short for "I Know Everything", acknowledging his three master's degrees: in flight test engineering, systems engineering and military operational art and science.

Victor was selected as a Nasa astronaut in 2013. He has previously served as the pilot of Nasa's SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station as part of Expedition 64.

He was born in Pomona, California, and is married with four children.

Victor is set to be the first black person to go to the Moon.

Reid Wiseman also brings back echoes of the 1960 Apollo Moonshots when he says that he hopes the Artemis II mission will be looked back on as a "tiny step in having humans on Mars and a sustained presence on the Moon".

His words echo those of another space commander, Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind".

Although Reid is the mission's commander, he takes care to include his crew.

"When I look at Victor, Christina and Jeremy, they want to go do this mission, they are keenly driven, they are humble to a fault. It is so cool to be around them."

Reid is widowed and despite a distinguished career as an astronaut, he considers his time as an only parent as his "greatest challenge and the most rewarding phase" of his life.

In one of the very few interviews Neil Armstrong ever gave, I asked him in 1996 whether the dream of humans living and working on the Moon and going on to other planets would ever come back. His reply was:

"The reality may have faded, but the dream is still there, and it will come back in time."

He would have been heartened to have heard these words from each of the Artemis II crew.

Christina: "We are ready."

Jeremy: "We are going."

Victor: "To the Moon."

Reid: "For all humanity!"