Every few decades a nation asks a small group of people to leave the planet and loop around the moon, and the way those people are chosen tells us as much about institutions as about heroism. NASA will name the four crew members for Artemis II this spring, the first humans to travel toward the moon in half a century, a flight meant to prepare the ground for a landing the following year. Yet the path to that decision runs through a process that remains largely hidden, even from many within the agency, where three leaders at Johnson Space Center will weigh recommendations and the nation's admini
Inside NASA's Secretive Search for the First Artemis Moon Crew
Eight names for four seats, and no official word on how they're chosen
Mark
Why does it matter that the selection is so secretive?
Mimi
Because this is the first crew to leave Earth orbit since Apollo, and the people choosing are three managers in Houston, not Washington. Nelson himself said he stays out of it.
Luke
Worth noting the three-person chain comes from CNN's sources, not an official NASA description. NASA hasn't published it.
Mark
Why does Wiseman's name come up first?
Mimi
He stepped down as chief in November, and the chief can't fly. Reisman says leaving the job traditionally let you take the best seat.
Luke
But that's a historical pattern, not confirmation. Nobody has said Wiseman has been picked, and Nelson says he doesn't know who has.
Mark
And the other names?
Mimi
Glover, Bresnik, Koch, Meir, McClain, Wilson and Hansen, drawn from people familiar with the process.
Luke
Which is a list of buzz. Eight names for four seats, unofficial, and Reisman himself says trivial things like suit size can decide it.
Mark
So what's genuinely settled?
Mimi
Three Americans, one Canadian, set by a 2020 agreement. Everything else is expectation.
Il Polso
- The crew list is set in outline, three Americans and one Canadian, yet the criteria that will narrow the field remain largely undisclosed.
- Three Johnson Space Center leaders, not Washington, hold the decision, and the chief astronaut's post is filled only on an acting basis.
- Reid Wiseman tops unofficial lists after stepping down as chief, while a spread of pilots and mission specialists jostle for the remaining seats.
- Insiders describe the process as terra incognita, and even minor factors like spacesuit sizing could shape who flies.
- The announcement is expected this spring, and observers are watching whether the final crew reflects test-pilot experience and the diversity NASA has promised.
Every few decades a nation asks a small group of people to leave the planet and loop around the moon, and the way those people are chosen tells us as much about institutions as about heroism. NASA will name the four crew members for Artemis II this spring, the first humans to travel toward the moon in half a century, a flight meant to prepare the ground for a landing the following year. Yet the path to that decision runs through a process that remains largely hidden, even from many within the agency, where three leaders at Johnson Space Center will weigh recommendations and the nation's administrator has chosen to step aside. The outcome will be read as a test of whether an old ambition can be pursued with fairness the public can see.
NASA plans to name four people this spring to fly around the moon, the first crewed trip of its kind in 50 years. The mission, Artemis II, is slated for 2024 and is meant to lead to a landing on Artemis III in 2025, as the program's cost climbs toward $100 billion. The agency has said only that the crew will include three Americans and one Canadian, and even many insiders say they do not fully understand how the choice will be made.
According to officials and former astronauts who spoke with CNN, the decision will be made at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Recommendations pass from the acting chief astronaut, Drew Feustel, to Norm Knight of Flight Operations, and then to center director Vanessa Wyche, who signs off on the final four. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says Washington will stay out of it and that he does not know whether a crew has already been chosen.
The post is vacant because Reid Wiseman stepped down as chief in November, freeing him to be considered for the flight. He is widely seen as the front-runner. Other names mentioned include Victor Glover, Randy Bresnik, Christina Koch, Jessica Meir, Anne McClain, Stephanie Wilson, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen, who is expected to take the Canadian seat.
Sources say the group is highly qualified, and small practical details, such as spacesuit sizing, can decide who flies. Former astronaut Mike Mullane's phrase, terra incognita, captures the uncertainty. What remains to be seen is whether the announced crew will match what insiders expect, with test-pilot experience and the diversity NASA has pledged, on a rocket that has flown successfully only once.
By NASA's own account, the agency will name four people this spring to fly around the moon, the first humans to do so in 50 years. The mission is Artemis II, scheduled for 2024, and it is meant to set up an Artemis III landing in 2025. The program's cost is expected to approach $100 billion by then. Yet the way the crew gets chosen is opaque even to many people inside the agency. NASA has said only that the crew will be three Americans and one Canadian.
CNN spoke with nearly a dozen current and former NASA officials and astronauts to piece together the process. The decision, they said, will be made at Johnson Space Center in Houston, where every US astronaut has lived and trained since 1961. The chief astronaut, currently Drew Feustel in an acting role, takes recommendations to Norm Knight, head of the Flight Operations Directorate. From there they go to Vanessa Wyche, the center's director, who signs off on the final four. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told CNN that Washington will stay out of the selection. He said he does not know whether a crew has been decided, and added that he should not.
The acting arrangement exists because Reid Wiseman stepped down as chief in November, two days before the uncrewed Artemis I launch. The chief cannot fly, so leaving the job frees him to be considered. Former astronaut Garrett Reisman said that historically the perk of the post was giving yourself the best available flight when you stepped down. Wiseman, 47, is a naval aviator and test pilot selected as an astronaut in 2009, and he tops nearly everyone's list. In August he also reversed an earlier decision to pick the crew from an 18-member "Artemis Team," opening the field to all 41 active astronauts.
The pool is far more varied than in the Mercury days. More than a third of the 41 are women, and 12 are people of color. Only 16 are pilots; the rest are mission specialists in fields such as biology, oceanography, engineering and medicine. Still, sources expect several test pilots on this first crewed lunar test flight. NASA has also stressed diversity of gender, race and profession, so a Wiseman selection would almost certainly require at least one woman and one person of color among the others.
People familiar with the process named other likely contenders. Victor Glover, 46, a naval aviator, piloted the second crewed SpaceX Crew Dragon flight and spent nearly six months on the International Space Station, returning in 2021. Randy Bresnik, 55, a naval aviator and test pilot, has overseen the astronaut office's work on Artemis rockets and spacecraft since 2018. Four women are said to lead the list. Christina Koch, 43, holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at 328 days. Jessica Meir, 45, is a biologist who joined Koch in the first all-female spacewalk in 2019. Both did stints at remote polar science bases, useful experience for about 10 days inside a 17-foot-wide capsule. Anne McClain, 43, an Army pilot who flew more than 200 combat missions, spent more than 200 days on the station. Stephanie Wilson, 56, selected in 1996, flew the first shuttle mission after the Columbia disaster.
The Canadian seat is expected to go to Jeremy Hansen, 47, a fighter pilot who was selected almost 14 years ago and still awaits a first flight. He recently became the first Canadian in charge of training a new NASA astronaut class.
All eight are highly qualified, and Reisman said small things can decide outcomes, such as spacesuit size: if only medium and large are available and you need extra-large, you will not be assigned. He called the process not always equitable or transparent. Former astronaut Mike Mullane called it "terra incognita." It was once murkier still: in the early shuttle era, non-astronaut George Abbey, then at Johnson, held near total control over flight assignments.
What to watch this spring is whether the announced crew matches the expectations of insiders: test-pilot experience and the diversity NASA has promised, aboard a rocket that has flown successfully only once.
Citazioni salienti
That is done by the people at the Johnson Space Center. They will make the decision.— NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
Being chief is a crummy, lousy job.— Garrett Reisman, former NASA astronaut
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