Cambridge University alumna could become the first woman to walk on the moon
Former University of Cambridge student Kayla Barron could become the first woman to walk on the moon.
Kayla, a Gates Cambridge Scholar and NASA astronaut, has been selected for NASA’s Artemis Team, making her eligible for the next astronaut missions that could see her become the first woman to achieve the feat.
NASA has selected 18 astronauts from its corps to form the Artemis Team, helping to pave the way for the next astronaut missions on and around the moon as part of the Artemis programme.
Outgoing US vice president Mike Pence introduced the members of the Artemis Team back in December during the eighth National Space Council meeting at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Presenting them to the world, he said: “I give you the heroes who will carry us to the moon and beyond – the Artemis Generation.
“It is amazing to think that the next man and first woman on the moon are among the names that we just read.
“The Artemis Team astronauts are the future of American space exploration – and that future is bright.”
NASA’s modern lunar exploration programme will land the first woman and next man on the moon in 2024, establishing a sustainable human lunar presence by the end of the decade.
Kayla Barron, who hails from the city of Richland, Washington, was chosen as an astronaut in 2017, alongside a Cambridge lecturer at the Department of Engineering, Dr Jenni Sidey-Gibbons, now of the Canadian Space Agency, who could be chosen to work on the Gateway, an outpost orbiting the moon.
Prior to becoming an astronaut, Kayla achieved a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Cambridge, where she conducted research on modelling the fuel cycle for a next generation, thorium-fuelled nuclear reactor concept.
As a submarine warfare officer, Kayla was a member of the first class of women commissioned into the submarine community. She is a lieutenant commander in the US Navy, having been commissioned as a navy officer in 2010.
In a YouTube video, members of the team said: “The discoveries from space benefit the way we live on Earth today, and those from the moon will create a better future for generations to come.”
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