NASA defends an all-male Artemis Moon crew: best for the mission, or breaking the 'first woman on the Moon' promise?
NASA's chief is defending the all-male crew picked for the Artemis 3 Moon landing, saying the choice reflects experience and readiness. Critics note that Artemis — named after the Greek goddess — was long sold as the mission to land 'the first woman and first person of color' on the Moon, and say an all-male crew breaks that pledge.
The summary above is a neutral framing. Below, each side reports the same story in its own words — judge for yourself.
NASA's administrator defends the Artemis 3 crew selection as based on astronauts' experience and readiness for a demanding, high-stakes mission — not on optics or quotas — arguing the agency picked the people best prepared to fly.
Critics point out that the Artemis programme — named after the goddess of the Moon — was repeatedly billed as the mission to land 'the first woman and first person of color' on the lunar surface; an all-male crew, they say, quietly abandons that high-profile promise.
