NASA announced on Tuesday the four astronauts who will make up the Artemis II mission, which is set to fly around the moon in 2023. The mission is part of NASA’s Artemis program which aims to put the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024.

The four astronauts are Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Matthias Maurer and Thomas Pesquet. Kimbrough, a retired U.S. Army colonel, has already spent around 189 days in space; McArthur is a veteran of the Space Shuttle program; Maurer is the first German astronaut to be selected for a long-duration mission by NASA; Pesquet, a European Space Agency astronaut, has spent six months on the International Space Station.

Sen. Ted Cruz, a strong supporter of the Artemis program, spoke at the unveiling ceremony at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. “This is a proud day for NASA and for our country,” said Cruz, adding that the Artemis program is crucial to “maintaining American leadership in space.”

The announcement comes after months of rigorous testing and evaluation of potential crew members. The Artemis II is the first of several missions planned in the Artemis program that will ultimately lead to a sustainable human presence on the moon.

NASA has also been working with international partners, including the Canadian Space Agency, in the Artemis program. The announcement of the Artemis II crew drew attention from media outlets across the world, with television stations and newspapers covering the event in detail. The Artemis program is seen as a key milestone in the quest to explore space and expand human knowledge.