Indian-American Raja Chari among 18 astronauts to be trained for Nasa's Artemis moon landing program

Nasa is sending 18 astronauts to the moon's surface for the first time since 1970s. The 18 astronauts, comprising of nine men and nine women, have been chosen for the mission under Nasa's Artemis program.

Vice President Mike Pence introduced the astronauts Wednesday at the close of his final meeting as chairman of the National Space Council. The announcement was made at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, beneath one of only three remaining Saturn V moon rockets from the 1960s and 1970s Apollo program.

The team of astronauts also includes an Indian-American astronaut -- Raja Chari.

According to reports, Chari's father Sreenivas V Chari had immigrated to the US from Hyderabad. The Indian-American astronaut was raised in Iowa, a Midwestern US state, and served as a colonel in the US Air Force. Chari has a bachelor's degree in astronautical engineering and a master's in aeronautics and astronautics.

Chari had reportedly joined the astronaut corps in 2017.

The 41-year-old was among 11 new Nasa graduates who successfully completed their basic astronaut training in ov over two years in January 2020.

The astronauts were selected among 18,000 applicants in 2017 after Nasa announced its Artemis programme. Chari was selected by Nasa to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. He reported for duty in August 2017 is now eligible for a mission assignment as he has completed the initial astronaut candidate training.

The astronauts chosen for the mission under Nasa's Artemis program are: Joseph Acaba, Kayla Barron, Matthew Dominick, Victor Glover, Warren Hoburg, Jonny Kim, Christina Hammock Koch, Kjell Lindgren, Nicole A. Mann, Anne McClain, Jessica Meir, Jasmin Moghbeli, Kate Rubins, Frank Rubio, Scott Tingle, Jessica Watkins and Stephanie Wilson.

"I give you the heroes who will carry us to the Moon and beyond -- the Artemis Generation," said Vice President Pence.

Pence noted that the last of the 12 men to walk on the moon, the late Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan, wanted nothing more than to remove “last” from his title. Cernan’s final lunar footsteps were on December 14, 1972.

“He spent the rest of his natural life advocating for America to go back to the moon, and we are going to honour Gene Cernan’s memory,” Pence told the small crowd, seated several feet apart from one another.

The space agency is aiming for a moon landing by 2024, although the chances of that happening are growing increasingly dim. The upcoming change in administration also adds uncertainty.

As per reports, it’s a fairly young group, with most in their 30s or 40s. The oldest is 55, the youngest 32. Only two — Joe Acaba and Stephanie Wilson — flew on Nasa’s old space shuttles.