CARIBOU, Maine — NASA on Wednesday named Caribou native Jessica Meir to the Artemis Team of astronauts, the lunar exploration program that will send the first woman and next man to the Moon in 2024.
Meir, 43, was among 18 astronauts -- nine men and nine women -- on the team announced by Vice President Mike Pence during the eighth National Space Council meeting at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA will announce flight assignments later, according to a release. The astronauts on the team will help NASA prepare for the coming Artemis missions to begin in 2021 working with commercial partners to develop human landing systems, assist in the development of training, define hardware requirements, consult on technical development, and engage the public and industry members on the program and NASA's plans.
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NASA expects to send dozens of science and technology experiments to the Moon beginning in 2021 and to establish a "sustainable human presence" on the Moon by the end of this decade.
“There is so much exciting work ahead of us as we return to the moon, and it will take the entire astronaut corps to make that happen,” Chief Astronaut Pat Forrester said in the release. “Walking on the lunar surface would be a dream come true for any one of us, and any part we can play in making that happen is an honor. I am proud of this particular group of men and women and know that any of them would do an outstanding job representing NASA and the United States on a future Artemis mission.”
Meir became an astronaut in 2013, has spent 205 days in space and has performed three spacewalks.
She was born in Caribou, earned a bachelor's degree in biology, a master's degree in space studies and a PhD in marine biology.
Prior to joining NASA, she studied the physiology of animals in extreme environments.