Who is the first woman on the moon?

The US’s Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon. Who was the first woman to tread on its grey, desolate surface?

Twelve men

Spoiler alert: there hasn’t been one! A total of twelve people walked on the moon at the end of the 1960s and early 70s – all of them men. There have been no moon landings since, but

that should all change in a few years. NASA, the US space agency, is due to launch a new lunar mission in 2026. And this time, a woman will be on board. Who that woman will be has yet to be announced.

Orbiting the moon

But we do know the identity of the first woman who will orbit the moon: Christina Koch, a US electric engineer and physicist. The mission was scheduled to take place at the end of 2024, but has since been postponed to the start of 2026 at the earliest.

Answered by Jean-Paul Keulen