Space For Diversity: NASA To Land First Woman On Moon Along With Person Of Colour

First Woman On Moon: In a major step for diversity, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), has announced it will send 9 women along with many people of colour to the Moon in its 'Artemis' mission.

It will be the first time in history that a woman will place her foot on the Moon. The mission named Artemis draws inspiration from its first earlier mission Apollo which landed several astronauts on the moon in 1966 and 1972. The mission is named after the Greek goddess of the Moon and the twin sister of Apollo. The Biden-Harris administration backed mission plans on landing 18 astronauts on the lunar south pole by 2024. The team of astronauts will then carry out sustainable missions on the Moon by 2028.

The team of 18 astronauts which was formed in November last year has 9 women and many people of colour. However, it is not known yet who will be the first woman and the first person of colour to set foot on the Moon. The team also includes astronaut Raja Chari who is an Indian-American. Read more here.

NASA administrator Steve Jurczyk said in an official statement that NASA's mission Artemis "aligns with President Biden's commitment to pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all." The statement added that the Biden-Harris administration's 2022 funding request has helped the "robotic exploration of the solar system and the universe."

"With NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, as well as U.S. commercial partnerships with the human landing system and Gateway lunar outpost, we will send astronauts to the Moon and provide learning opportunities for future missions," the official statement added.

According to NASA, the astronauts will return after the Artemis mission will be later sent to Mars. The US space agency added that the advancements achieved during the Apollo programme will be used to achieve new breakthroughs in science and space exploration.