Let’s get the quick answer out of the way before we dive into the "why" and "when." Honestly, no. Has there been a woman on the moon? Not yet. As of right now, only 12 human beings have ever kicked up moon dust, and every single one of them was an American man during the Apollo era between 1969 and 1972. It’s a bit of a weird realization when you think about how much technology has advanced, yet our physical footprint on the lunar surface remains frozen in a very specific, mid-century snapshot.
You might be thinking of Sally Ride or Judith Resnik, but they were pioneers of the Space Shuttle era, orbiting Earth rather than heading for the lunar horizon. There’s a massive difference between Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and the 238,000-mile trek to our natural satellite.
Why the gap exists in lunar history
It isn't that women weren't qualified. Far from it. In the early 1960s, a group of female pilots known as the Mercury 13 underwent the same grueling physical and psychological tests as the male Mercury 7 astronauts. They passed. In some cases, they actually outperformed the men, especially in sensory deprivation and endurance tests. Jerrie Cobb, for instance, was a legend in the cockpit. However, NASA requirements at the time mandated that all astronauts be military test pilots, a career path that was legally closed to women back then.
Political will faded.
After Eugene Cernan stepped off the moon in 1972, the funding for the Apollo program dried up. We basically stopped going. For decades, human spaceflight focused on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). We got really good at living in space, but we stopped traveling through it. That’s why the answer to "has there been a woman on the moon" remains a "no" for the moment—the hardware to get there simply hasn't existed for over fifty years.
The Soviet head start that didn't lead to the moon
The USSR actually beat the US to putting a woman in space by two decades. Valentina Tereshkova flew in 1963, years before Neil Armstrong took his "one small step." But even the Soviets, with their early emphasis on "firsts," never sent a crewed mission to the moon. Their lunar rocket, the N1, kept exploding during testing.
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Artemis: Changing the narrative
Everything is shifting right now because of the Artemis program. Named after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology, the goal isn't just to go back; it's to go back differently. NASA has been very vocal about the fact that the next person on the moon will be a woman.
This isn't just about optics.
The current astronaut corps is incredibly diverse and highly specialized. We aren't just sending "pilots" anymore; we’re sending geologists, biologists, and engineers who are going to build a permanent base. Among the top contenders to be the first woman on the lunar surface are seasoned veterans like Christina Koch, who holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, and Jessica Meir, who participated in the first all-female spacewalk.
The hardware is finally ready
We have the SLS (Space Launch System) and the Orion spacecraft. These are the tools that will finally update the answer to our primary question. The Artemis II mission is currently scheduled to fly a crew—including Christina Koch—around the moon. They won't land, but they’ll be the first humans to see the far side of the moon in person since 1972. Artemis III is the big one. That’s the mission slated to put boots back on the ground, specifically near the lunar South Pole.
Why the South Pole? It’s dark. It’s cold.
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But it has water ice.
If we can harvest that ice, we can make oxygen and rocket fuel. This makes the moon a gas station for the rest of the solar system. The women chosen for these missions aren't just making history; they are performing essential resource management that will eventually get humans to Mars.
Misconceptions about who has been "up there"
I’ve heard people argue that maybe a woman went on a secret mission. Or they confuse the moon with the International Space Station. Since 2000, the ISS has been continuously inhabited. Plenty of women have lived there for months at a time. Peggy Whitson, for example, has spent more time in space (675 days) than almost any other American, regardless of gender. She’s a powerhouse. But the ISS is only about 250 miles up.
The moon is a thousand times further away.
It’s also important to acknowledge that while NASA is the most visible player, other countries are catching up. China’s space agency, CNSA, has its eyes on the moon, and they’ve already sent women like Liu Yang and Wang Yaping into orbit. The race to see which nation puts the first woman on the moon is quietly heating up, though NASA’s Artemis program is currently the frontrunner in terms of timeline.
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What the first lunar landing by a woman will look like
It won't be a carbon copy of 1969. The tech is sleeker. The suits are more mobile. The 1960s suits were stiff and awkward, designed mostly for men’s body shapes, which actually caused mobility issues. Newer suits, like the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), are being designed to fit a wider range of body types, ensuring that the first woman on the moon can actually move, bend, and work efficiently.
It's about capability.
Practical steps to follow the journey
If you’re interested in tracking this milestone as it happens, you don't have to wait for the nightly news. The progress is happening in real-time across various platforms.
- Follow the Artemis blog: NASA maintains a specific update feed for the Artemis missions where they post technical milestones and crew training photos.
- Watch the "Path to the Moon" series: NASA's YouTube channel has deep dives into the SLS rocket testing and the Orion capsule's heat shield performance.
- Track the Astronaut Corps: Look up the bios of the "Artemis Team." These are the 18 astronauts (9 men and 9 women) initially selected for the lunar missions. Names like Anne McClain and Nicole Mann are ones you'll want to remember.
- Check the launch schedules: Missions like Artemis II are the literal "flight tests" for the landing. Watching these milestones will give you a better sense of how close we actually are to that historic landing.
The reality is that while the answer to has there been a woman on the moon is currently "no," we are closer to changing that answer than we have been at any point in human history. We are moving from the era of "flags and footprints" to the era of sustainable lunar living. The next decade of space exploration is going to look fundamentally different from the last five. It’s a transition from a historical anomaly to a permanent human presence, and women are at the very center of that transition.
Stay updated by checking the official NASA Artemis mission pages regularly. The launch windows for these missions are often fluid due to liquid hydrogen leaks or weather constraints, so keeping an eye on the Kennedy Space Center's launch calendar is the best way to ensure you don't miss the moment history finally changes.