Vice President Mike Pence listens during a meeting of the National Space Council inside the Apollo/Saturn V Center at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on Dec. 9, 2020. The council's role is to advise the president regarding national space policy and strategy and to review the nation's long-range goals for space activities. At the close of the meeting, Pence announced the initial team of 18 astronauts eligible for early Artemis missions on and around the Moon. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024.