The first man to land on the Moon was an American. He was Neil Armstrong and the date was 20 July 1969. That was half a century ago. Now, NASA will send the first woman to the Moon in about five years. It will be the Artemis program which is a return to the Moon mission and must be completed by 2024. Obviously, NASA has a tough task on hand because it has to identify the candidates and train them to adjust to the alien surroundings. Moreover, the program will be a “proving ground” to test the future generation of spacecraft and lay the foundation of a crewed mission to Mars.

Daily Mail UK reports that the woman chosen could possibly be some astronaut who has had exposure to space technology and might have been associated with the International Space Station (ISS). Right now, there are 12 female astronauts on NASA's roster and the selection would probably be from them. Whoever she might be, she will become a part of history alongside Neil Armstrong.

There are many candidates

The women astronauts of NASA are in the age group of 40 to 53 and some of them have flown and commanded Space Shuttles.

They have come from a range of professions like former military pilots, medical doctors, and scientists. Their induction began in the late 1990s and were among the best from thousands of aspirants. In view of the tight schedule, the American space agency will have to go in for existing personnel available instead of inducting someone new.

That is the view expressed by Eileen Collins who is an astronaut herself because they know the tricks of the trade.

Daily Mail UK adds that NASA started in 1958 and relied on the military for its requirement of personnel.

In the initial stages, men ruled supreme and the first woman to enter the scene was Sally Ride. In 1983, she became the first American woman to go to space. Later, others joined and some of them have worked on the International Space Station (ISS). They are a mix of different professions. One of them is a helicopter pilot, another an engineer and passionate mountain climber, and a third is a marine biologist. The Artemis program will probably have a four-member crew, and two of them will repeat what Neil Armstrong did, namely walk on the Moon.

NASA to send the first woman to the Moon

According to CNN, the first woman on the moon by 2024 could be an American, thanks to an additional increase to the agency's budget by President Trump.

He announced about adding $1.6 billion to NASA's budget "so that we can return to Space in a BIG WAY!" It was in December 2017, that Trump signed the Space Policy Directive 1. Under the terms of the directive, he wanted NASA to send humans to the moon for the first time since 1972 with the objective of "long-term exploration and use" and missions to other planets. Until now, there have been 12 moonwalkers, all American men. It is now the turn of women.
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