New York, January 27: US President Joe Biden has nominated Indian-American astronaut Raja Chari on the moon mission team for promotion to an Air Force brigadier general, according to the Defence Department.

The nomination announced on Thursday will have to be confirmed by the Senate which approves all senior civilian and military appointments. The US Air Force uses the same ranks as the Army, which considers brigadiers to be one-star generals. NASA, SpaceX Crew-6 Mission Scheduled To Send Four Astronauts to International Space Station on February 26.

Chari is a member of the Artemis team of astronauts preparing for the US mission of returning to the moon. In 2021, he commanded a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) crew to the International Space Station where he served for 177 days and conducted a spacewalk. Russian Conman Claiming to Be Astronaut Stuck in Space Dupes Japanese Woman of 4.4 Million Yen.

Before joining NASA, Chari was an Air Force test pilot with a master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in aeronautics and astronautics.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 27, 2023 09:52 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).