First Korean-American Astronaut Likely to Become a 'Moon Landing Astronaut' [Reading Science]

NASA Announces 'Equity Action Plan' to Strengthen Racial Equality
One of Two Moon Landing Astronaut Spots Reserved for Women, Fierce Competition for One Male Spot
Korean-American Johnny Kim Likely to Be Selected as Minority Representative

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Could Johnny Kim, NASA's only Korean-American astronaut, become an Artemis lunar landing astronaut? NASA's increased commitment to diversity and inclusion for minorities, including Asians, in various missions has raised the possibility of Kim being finally selected.

On the 24th (local time), NASA announced that on the 15th it had established and released an "equity action plan" to apply the Biden administration's racial equality policies to space development. The core of the plan is to improve NASA's racial diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility both internally and externally.

To this end, NASA will first increase consideration for minority-owned businesses and contractors in the procurement of various services, goods, and projects. It also plans to strengthen various cooperative agreements and increase grants to enhance representation, accessibility, and participation opportunities for minorities. Using earth science and social science data, NASA aims to help alleviate environmental issues faced by minorities and expand support for those who do not speak English.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated, "This equity action plan is our commitment to actively identify and remove barriers that have limited opportunities for underserved and underrepresented racial communities," adding, "We clearly emphasize 'fairness' as a core element to make NASA's space development missions more accessible to everyone."

As NASA increases its consideration for minorities and other socially disadvantaged groups both internally and externally, attention is focused on how this will affect the astronaut selection for the Artemis lunar landing mission scheduled after 2025. At the end of 2020, NASA selected 18 candidates for the Artemis lunar landing astronaut program, including 9 women. Various minorities from Africa, Asia, and Latin America were also included. Kim is the only Korean-American. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017, beating odds of 18,000 to 1. After immigrating to the U.S., Kim joined the Navy SEALs, received the Silver Star, and is currently a Navy medical officer who graduated from Harvard Medical School. NASA has effectively decided that one of the two lunar landing astronauts will be female. The remaining spot is being contested by 9 male candidates.