A proposed NASA plan to land a woman on the moon by 2024 has been named Artemis, in honor of the Greek goddess of the Moon and twin sister to the god Apollo, after whom NASA’s original flagship lunar program was named.
“I think it is very beautiful that 50 years after Apollo, the Artemis program will carry the next man and the first woman to the Moon,” said NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine. “I have a daughter who is 11 years old, and I want her to be able to see herself in the same role as the next women that go to the Moon.”
The announcement of a formal name for the Artemis project came as NASA issued an updated budget request to the White House in response to Vice President Mike Pence’s March request that the space agency accelerate its plans to put people on the moon within five years. Since then, Bridenstine has repeatedly emphasized that any such effort would be sure to include women astronauts.
“NASA is committed to making sure we have a broad and diverse set of talent and we’re looking forward to the first woman on the moon,” said Bridenstine in March. “These are great days.”
Later that month, the agency’s plan to conduct the world’s first all-woman spacewalk had to be scrapped — apparently because the agency had failed to prepare enough suitably-sized spacesuits in time.
