Artemis 2 Astronauts Hope Future Makes Them a Footnote

The crew of NASA's Artemis 2 mission doesn't want a place in history books. They want their groundbreaking journey around the moon to become so ordinary that future generations barely remember it happened.

"I hope they forget all about Artemis 2," astronaut Christina Koch told CBS' "60 Minutes" in an interview that aired Sunday. She's one of four crew members set to launch as soon as February 8 for the first human trip to the moon since 1972.

Koch, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover, and Canada's Jeremy Hansen will spend 10 days circling the moon aboard an Orion capsule. No humans have ventured this far from Earth in over 50 years.

But when interviewer Bill Whitaker pointed out they're making history, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen redirected the focus. "Watch what's coming next. It gets pretty extraordinary from here."

The crew completed a dress rehearsal at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on December 20. Engineers are conducting a crucial fueling test today to verify the massive Space Launch System rocket is ready for its first crewed flight.

Why This Inspires

This perspective reveals something powerful about human progress. The Artemis 2 crew understands their mission succeeds not when people remember their names, but when lunar travel becomes so routine their journey fades into background noise.

They're hoping their flight enables Artemis 3 in 2028, which will put boots on the lunar surface for the first time in over half a century. Beyond that, NASA plans to establish a permanent moon base by 2030 and use lessons learned to send humans to Mars.

Koch emphasized this vision when she mentioned "all the way from Artemis 3 to Artemis 100 to missions to Mars." The number 100 isn't just optimism. It represents a future where traveling to the moon is as unremarkable as a cross-country flight.

The crew has backup launch windows on February 10 and 11, with additional opportunities in March and April if needed. Their 10-day journey will test life support systems, navigation, and crew operations that future missions will rely on.

In wanting to be forgotten, these four astronauts are hoping for the best possible outcome: a future so rich with space exploration that their pioneering trip becomes just another small step in humanity's giant leap forward.