An Indian-American
US Air Force colonel, Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari, is  among the 18 astronauts shortlisted by NASA on Wednesday to form the
Artemis Team for its ambitious
manned mission to the Moon and beyond, said NASA in a release.

Chari who joined the astronaut corps in 2017 obtained a bachelor’s degree from the US Air Force Academy and went on to receive professional training from US Naval Test Pilot School.

Atronaut Raja Chari on Thursday took to twitter to announce his selection.

Raja Chari is the only Indian-American in the team of 18 astronauts.

The team was introduced
by Vice President of the US Mike Pence during the eighth National Space Council
meeting at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

“It really is
amazing to think that the next man and the first woman on the Moon are among
the names that we just read… We started today reflecting on a great hero of
the past. The Artemis Generation is the heroes of American space exploration in
the future.” Pence said.

This lunar exploration
programme will mark the landing of first woman and next man on the Moon in 2024
and establish a sustainable human lunar presence by the end of the decade, the
American space agency said.

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Team Artemis will
assist NASA in preparing for the coming lunar mission to begin next year in
collaboration with its commercial partners as they develop human landing
systems; assisting in the development of training; defining hardware
requirements; and consulting on technical development.

“There is so much
exciting work ahead of us as we return to the moon, and it will take the entire
astronaut corps to make that happen,” Chief Astronaut Pat Forrester said.

“Walking on the
lunar surface would be a dream come true for any one of us, and any part we can
play in making that happen is an honour,” he said.

The other members in the list include Christina Koch and Jessica Meir, the two astronauts who
performed the world’s first all-female spacewalk last year.