Scott Wray, the EVA training lead for NASA's Artemis program, is drawing on a childhood passion for spacewalks to prepare astronauts for the challenges of walking on the Moon. His journey began at age six, when a tent resembling a lunar lander became his imaginary spacecraft. Lying on his back with his feet propped on a pillow, he would simulate launch countdown sequences before crawling out to explore the makeshift lunar surface.
Wray's role centers on developing the protocols and simulations that will teach Artemis crew members how to safely navigate the Moon's low-gravity environment. This includes training on advanced spacesuit designs, tool handling, and emergency procedures specific to the lunar terrain. The work demands a deep understanding of both engineering constraints and human performance limits.
NASA plans to send astronauts to the lunar south pole as part of Artemis III, targeting a launch date in 2025, though technical and scheduling hurdles persist. Training for such a mission requires years of preparation, and Wray's team is already running iterative simulations at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
While the agency touts Artemis as a return to sustained lunar exploration, critics point to budget overruns and delays that have pushed initial moonwalk timelines to the right. Some experts argue the training infrastructure must accelerate to match the pace of hardware development, or risk sending underprepared crews.
The Artemis EVA program marks NASA's first effort to train for surface moonwalks since Apollo, and Wray emphasized the need for a new generation of spacewalkers. However, the success of this training will ultimately be judged not in simulators, but on the lunar surface itself.