Jessica Watkins of Lafayette and Matthew Dominick are among 18 astronauts chosen for NASA's Artemis program that's aimed at sending humans back to the moon.

Two Coloradans are among 18 astronauts chosen for NASA's Artemis lunar exploration program, which aims to land the next man and first woman on the moon by 2024.

Jessica Watkins is from Lafayette, Colorado, and graduated from Fairview High School in Boulder before going on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University and a Doctorate in Geology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class and having completed initial candidate training, she is now eligible for a mission assignment.

Matthew Dominick was born in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and graduated from D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School in Golden. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of San Diego and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patient River, Maryland. Like Watkins, Dominick was selected for the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class and is awaiting his first mission.

NASA is working toward launching Artemis I, an unmanned mission to test its Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, next year. The first crewed Artemis mission is scheduled for 2022 with a goal of landing astronauts on the moon by 2024. NASA said it plans to collaborate with commercial and international partners to establish sustainable missions by 2028 and it eventually hopes to use its experience on its moon missions to take the next leap and send astronauts to Mars. 

The agency's plans for its moon missions include finding and using water and other resources for long-term exploration, learning how to live and operate on the surface of another celestial body that is three days from the earth, and proving the technologies that will be needed to send astronauts on missions to Mars, a roundtrip journey of up to three years.

Neil Armstrong was the first person to step foot on the moon. The 12 men who have walked on the moon did so between 1969 and 1972 as part of NASA's Apollo program.