NASA Plans to Land First Person of Color on the Moon in Artemis Program

This is amazing — and overdue.

Two Historic Firsts

NASA announced that it plans to land the first person of color on the Moon as part of its Artemis Program on Friday.

Acting NASA administrator Steve Jurcyzk made the announcement in a statement regarding the Biden administration’s funding request for NASA. He said that along with sending the first woman to the Moon, the agency will also be able to land the first person of color.

"The president’s discretionary request increases NASA’s ability to better understand Earth and further monitor and predict the impacts of climate change," Jurcyk said in the statement. "It also gives us the necessary resources to continue advancing America’s bipartisan Moon to Mars space exploration plan, including landing the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under the Artemis program."

Big Budget for Big Goals

The Biden administration has requested $24.7 billion for the agency as part of its 2022 budget. That money will help support the Artemis program, which seeks to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon as soon as 2024, along with establishing a base camp on the lunar surface.

Last year, the agency announced its first planned team of American astronauts to head to the Moon. The list included nine women and several people of color. 

Righting Wrongs

The agency has been problematic in the past when it comes to race.

One notable example includes the case of Ed Dwight, a man who was set to become the first Black astronaut in space as part of the Apollo program — but was ultimately cut despite insistence from the Kennedy administration.  

So it'll be a historic moment once we do land these astronauts on the lunar surface... and it’ll be one that’s long overdue.

READ MORE: NASA to land 1st person of color on the moon with Artemis program [Space.com]

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