NASA on Wednesday named 18 astronauts who will train for future moon missions as the space agency set its sights on putting people on the space rock for the first time since 1972.

  The federal space administration has set a goal of getting boots on the moon by 2024, an ambitious mark, as part of its Artemis program.

The 18 members of NASA's Artemis Team, from top left to bottom right: Joe Acaba, Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, Matthew Dominick, Victor Glover, Woody Hoburg, Jonny Kim, Christina Koch, Kjell Lindgren, Nicole Mann, Anne McClain, Jessica Meir, Jasmin Moghbeli, Kate Rubins, Frank Rubio, Scott Tingle, Jessica Watkins and Stephanie Wilson.
The 18 members of NASA's Artemis Team, from top left to bottom right: Joe Acaba, Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, Matthew Dominick, Victor Glover, Woody Hoburg, Jonny Kim, Christina Koch, Kjell Lindgren, Nicole Mann, Anne McClain, Jessica Meir, Jasmin Moghbeli, Kate Rubins, Frank Rubio, Scott Tingle, Jessica Watkins, and Stephanie Wilson. (NASA)

The newly minted crop of astronauts includes nine men and nine women, setting the stage for a woman to walk on the moon for the first time if NASA succeeds in its designs.

The team is Joseph Acaba, Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, Matthew Dominick, Victor Glover, Warren Hoburg, Jonny Kim, Christina Hammock Koch, Kjell Lindgren, Nicole Mann, Anne McClain, Jessica Meir, Jasmin Moghbeli, Kate Rubins, Frank Rubio, Scott Tingle, Jessica Watkins, and Stephanie Wilson.


  Vice President Pence called the group the “heroes who will carry us to the moon and beyond” as he introduced the roster in an event at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“It is really amazing to think that the next man and the first woman on the moon are among the names that we just read,” Pence said.

A dozen astronauts have walked on the moon in history.