This is one big step for diversity.
NASA plans to land the first person of color on the moon as part of an international space program, a representative of the agency said on Friday.
“NEW: @NASA will land the first woman and the * first colored * on the Moon under the Artemis program,” tweeted NASA Press Secretary Jackie McGuinness.
The news comes after an announcement in September that the agency would send the first female astronaut ever to the moon as part of the same program in 2024.
McGuinness told The Post on Friday that NASA has not yet determined who the colored or female astronaut will be – or whether it will be the same individual.
“There were no specific crew choices yet,” she said. “Any specific assignment of the crew will be made closer to the launch.”
She added that the mission could now be delayed until 2025 or later.
“The Biden administration supports the goals of the Artemis program. However, given the funding levels for the human landing system over the past two years, a lunar landing target of 2024 does not seem realistic. ”
In 2019, NASA announced the Artemis program, which will land the first American on the moon since the Apollo lunar mission in 1972.
The program includes research on commercial partnerships and other economic opportunities related to space travel.
NASA’s goal is to dump that research and revenue into missions to explore Mars, which is more than 139 million miles from Earth than the moon.