“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Neil Armstrong  

On July 20, 1969, these words were said on the moon by the first man ever to walk on the moon. It was an astonishing day for Americans, as they watched the famous astronaut step foot on the lunar surface. At that time, no one ever thought a woman would be up there, but fifty-two years later, that dream was made into a reality. 

With the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. “We will collaborate with our commercial and international partners and establish sustainable exploration by the end of the decade. Then, we will use what we learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars.” This is a big step towards our goal to land on Mars. We don’t know what is up there, but sending astronauts up there will help our understanding of the planet and its ability to house life.

In 2018, NASA was able to send two women into space, but not the moon. Jessica Meir and Christina Koch made the most of their first trip to the International Space Station by breaking the record for the longest single spaceflight by women and conducting the first all-female spacewalk. That was an even bigger step for women, but sending one up to the moon is a big deal. There are eighteen astronauts ( men and women ) that have been chosen to potentially go up, but only two will be picked. “I have truly been inspired by the struggle and triumphs of so many women that dare to break new ground in all aspects of society and those who have pushed the boundaries of human imagination,” says Koch. 

This trip will take a long time to train for, so this won’t happen until 2024, but just think of where we’ll be by that time!