Los Angeles Times

Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. Who will be the first woman?

Fifty years after a military test pilot made the first striated boot prints in the thick gray powder of the lunar surface, NASA has an ambitious plan to send humans back to the moon by 2024.

But this time there's a twist.

The next time a pair of astronauts set foot on the moon, the space agency has vowed that at least one of them will be a woman.

"I think most women would say it's about time," said former astronaut Janet Kavandi, director of NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. "Women have been in the astronaut corps for decades now. We've gone everywhere else our male counterparts have gone."

NASA is so serious about sending a woman to the moon that it has named its new lunar program Artemis. In Greek mythology, Artemis is the goddess of the moon and twin sister

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times2 min read
Lakers Fade Again In Game 3 Loss To Denver, Moving To Brink Of Elimination
LOS ANGELES — The climb is mountainous, trouble lurking at every step. One bad dribble, and Denver runs the other direction, creating an open three. One missed assignment, and Aaron Gordon cuts baseline for a dunk. One whiffed box out and the Nuggets
Los Angeles Times4 min read
Bill Plaschke: Darvin Ham Is On The Hot Seat As The Lakers Are On The Brink Of Elimination
LOS ANGELES — The chant began in the final minutes of another lost season, the blame thundering down from furious Laker fans in four sharp syllables. "Fi-re Dar-vin … Fi-re Dar-vin … Fi-re Dar-vin." The Lakers are on the precipice of a second consecu
Los Angeles Times2 min read
Kawhi Leonard, Clippers Struggle Again In Game 3 Loss To Mavericks
DALLAS — In a game that became testy in the fourth quarter, the health of Kawhi Leonard was paramount for the Clippers. Leonard was listed as questionable with right knee inflammation for Game 3, and though he started Friday night, he rarely looked s

Related Books & Audiobooks