He was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class.
He reported for duty in August 2017 and having completed the initial astronaut candidate training is now eligible for a mission assignment.
“My fellow Americans, I give you the heroes of the future who will carry us back to the Moon and beyond: the Artemis Generation”, Vice President Mike Pence said at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Wednesday.
“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 are the heroes of American space exploration in the future”, Pence said after he introduced the members of the Artemis Team during the eighth National Space Council meeting.