The next two Astronauts on the Moon could both be women

In a keynote speech at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine deviated from the policy line about the Artemis moon program.

Source: AAP

"We are going to land the first woman and the next man on the moon", said Mr Bridenstine, suggesting that NASA's next lunar landing could include multiple women on the moon's surface.

"There are great women at NASA right now," Bridenstine said of the astronaut corps, adding that it's very likely that somebody who is already in the group of spaceflyers could be tapped for the Artemis III moon-landing mission.

NASA's first Artemis mission is scheduled for 2020.

Artemis II is scheduled to begin shortly afterward, carrying the mission's first humans, and the moon-landing mission (Artemis III) is set to launch in 2024.