British Moon Landing? NASA to include international astronaut

A British astronaut might be one of the first people to walk on the Moon in over 50 years.

NASA has announced that one international astronaut will join an American mission to the moon by the end of the decade.

This decision would make the chosen crew member the first non-American to ever set foot on the Moon.

However, there are no further clues on the identity or nationality of the astronaut.

In a statement, NASA said that it will 'make specific crew assignments closer to each mission as the mission parameters and crew criteria are defined.' +8 View gallery

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All 12 people to walk on the Moon have been American men, but this decision could open the door for the first British person to join this exclusive club Advertisement

The agreement came as part of a meeting of the National Space Council convened by Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday.

Speaking at the council, Ms Harris said: 'Today in recognition of the essential role that our allies and partners play in the Artemis program, I'm proud to announce that, alongside American astronauts, we intend to land an international astronaut on the surface of the moon by the end of the decade.'

However, in November, NASA reportedly told the British Government that it was 'incredibly possible' that a British astronaut could be selected.

If a British astronaut were selected, the most likely contenders would be Tim Peake or one of the three Brits recently selected for the European Space Agency's 2023 astronaut programme. +8 View gallery

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If a British astronaut were selected, the most likely contenders would be Tim Peake (pictured) or one of the three Brits recently selected for the European Space Agency's 2023 astronaut programme.

Tim Peake, dubbed Britain's first spaceman, has recently been focusing an ambassadorial work but has said he would like to walk on the Moon in his lifetime.

The other three potential moonwalkers are John McFall, 42, a surgical trainee and Paralympic medallist; Meganne Christian, 35, a materials scientist originally from Kent; and Rosemary Coogan, 32, an astrophysicist from Northern Ireland.

John McFall, who lost his leg below the knee in a motorbike accident, was recently filmed undergoing weightlessness training and has been called the first 'parastronaut'.

Rosemary Coogan, 32, is from Belfast but went to school in Brighton and has two masters degrees in physics from the University of Durham.

From a young age, she spent several weeks a year away from home onboard military training vessels and land bases as a Cadet Petty Officer with the Sea Cadets from 2002 to 2009.

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Rosemary Coogan (left) and Meganne Christian (middle) and John McFall (right) have been selected for the European Space Agency's 2023 astronaut program and are strong contenders for the first British moonwalker ... World's first 'parastronaut' takes a zero-gravity flight Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00PreviousPlaySkipLIVEMute00:00Current Time 0:00/Duration Time 0:24FullscreenNeed TextVideo Quality576p540p360p270pForeground---WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan---OpaqueSemi-OpaqueBackground---WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan---OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindow---WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan---OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyDefaultMonospace SerifProportional SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional Sans-SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsDefaultsDoneMinimizeExpandClose

Meanwhile, Meganne Christian, 35, was born in Kent but moved to Australia at a young age and studied at the University of New South Wales.

The materials scientist has worked at the National Research Council of Italy in Bologna and as a researcher at Concordia Station in Antarctica, one of the most remote places on Earth.

This is not the first time that NASA has included international astronauts on trips to space.

The space agency has partnered with the European, Japanese, and Russian space agencies for decades to send crews to the international space station. +8 View gallery

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Vice President Kamala Harris announced that an international astronaut would join an American in landing on the Moon before the end of the decade +8 View gallery

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The Artemis II mission will see four lucky crew members take a 10-day journey around the moon in NASA's deep space Orion capsule, gathering vital knowledge on the lunar surface Advertisement

Recently, NASA announced that Artemis II, the second leg of the agency's new Moon mission, would include a Canadian astronaut.

Canadian Jeremy Hansen will join American astronauts flying around the moon when the mission launches around November 2024.

Hansen, who introduced Ms Harris at the council, said that including international partners 'is not only sincerely appreciated, but it is urgently needed in the world today,' Hansen told the council.

However, Mr Hansen and the crew of Artemis II will not touchdown on the lunar surface.

The crew will instead make a full orbit of the Moon in an Orion capsule, gathering data on the Moon's surface and testing the spacecraft's life support systems.

This will lay the groundwork for the first people to walk on the Moon since NASA closed the Apollo Program in 1972.

An Orion capsule will take a crew of four astronauts into lunar orbit.

However, only two astronauts will actually get to walk on the moon while the others remain onboard the capsule or on a small space station called Gateway.

One American and one international astronaut will join the elite club of 'moon-walkers', which currently consists of 12 American men.

The mission is not anticipated until 2027 at the earliest. +8 View gallery

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The Artemis II crew consists of Christina Koch (far left), Victor Glover (top middle), Jeremy Hansen (far right), and Reid Wiseman (bottom middle) ... NASA to unveil Artemis II astronauts who will venture around moon Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00PreviousPlaySkipLIVEMute00:00Current Time 0:00/Duration Time 0:47FullscreenNeed TextVideo Quality576p540p360p270pForeground---WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan---OpaqueSemi-OpaqueBackground---WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan---OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindow---WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan---OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyDefaultMonospace SerifProportional SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional Sans-SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsDefaultsDoneMinimizeExpandClose

NASA has long stressed the need for global cooperation in space, establishing the Artemis Accords along with the U.S. State Department in 2020 to promote responsible behaviour not just on the moon but everywhere in space.

Representatives from all 33 countries that have signed the accords so far were expected at the Space Council's meeting in Washington.

'We know from experience that collaboration on space delivers,' said Secretary of State Antony Blinken, citing the Webb Space Telescope, a US, European and Canadian effort.

During Wednesday's meeting, Harris also announced new policies to ensure the safe use of space as more and more private companies and countries aim skyward.

The issues that the US is looking to resolve include the climate crisis and the growing amount of space junk around Earth.

A 2021 anti-satellite missile test by Russia added more than 1,500 pieces of potentially dangerous orbiting debris, and Blinken joined others at the meeting in calling for all nations to end such destructive testing.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12889141/The-Great-British-Moon-Landing-NASA-says-include-international-astronaut-mission-lunar-surface-end-decade.html?ito=email_share_article-image-share

British Moon Landing? NASA to include international astronaut

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