Marine Corps Maj. Jasmin Moghbeli isn’t the first female active-duty Marine officer to pass the NASA astronaut training program, but her recent graduation means she’s on the short list to be the first woman to go to the moon.
Moghbeli and 10 others were the first graduates under the Artemis program, meaning they’re now eligible for missions to the International Space Station, the moon and – one day – Mars. Moghbeli was commissioned in 2005 after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She became a naval aviator and spent the next decade piloting AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters and test piloting various others. In her career, she’s flown 25 different aircraft, accumulated 2,000 flight hours, and more than 150 combat missions. Moghbeli’s next test flight will take her further than she’s ever gone before, and she’s excited about it. But how did she get here and what lies ahead for her? She filled us in on the details.