As four astronauts attempt to slingshot around the moon for the first time in half a century as part of the Artemis II mission, an Austin Independent School District and University of Texas graduate will be directing the operation from the ground.
Emily Nelson, NASA’s chief flight director, graduated from LBJ High School’s Science, Math and Computer Academy before she attended UT, where she studied mechanical engineering, according to her alumni biography on UT’s website.
NASA’s Artemis II mission launched Wednesday evening from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the first crewed moon mission since Apollo 17 in 1972. Nelson, who has served as chief flight director since 2023, leads the group of NASA employees who direct human spaceflight missions from the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The 10-day mission will fly Americans Reid Wiseman, 50; Victor Glover, 49; Christina Koch, 47; and Canadian Jeremy Hansen, 50, around the moon and back.
The astronauts are testing the Orion spacecraft for a later Artemis mission that aims to return humans to the lunar surface in 2028…