NASA unveiled the four astronauts who will participate in the Artemis III mission during a ceremony at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on June 9. The mission, scheduled for 2027, represents a critical step in NASA’s lunar exploration program before attempting a crewed moon landing in 2028.
The Artemis III Crew
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced that veteran astronaut Randy Bresnik will serve as commander, with Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency as pilot. Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio will serve as mission specialists. Bob Hines was named as backup crew member and will train alongside the prime crew.
Bresnik, 58, is a former Marine fighter pilot and former TOPGUN graduate who has accumulated 149 days in space during previous missions, including a space shuttle flight in 2009 and a long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station in 2017.
Parmitano, 49, becomes the first ESA astronaut assigned to an Artemis mission. An Italian Air Force test pilot, he previously served as commander of the International Space Station during Expedition 61, becoming the first Italian to hold that position.
Douglas, 40, will be making his first spaceflight. Selected by NASA in 2021, he previously served as backup crew for the recently completed Artemis II around-the-moon mission.
Rubio, 49, returns to space following his record-setting 371-day mission aboard the International Space Station in 2022-23—the longest single-duration spaceflight by an American astronaut.
Mission Objectives
The Artemis III flight will launch atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft and its crew from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to low Earth orbit. Rather than traveling to the moon, the mission will focus on demonstrating rendezvous and docking capabilities with test versions of commercial lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
After Orion systems checkouts, the spacecraft will demonstrate these critical procedures with one or both landers. Astronauts will conduct tests and technology demonstrations while docked, evaluating hardware integration, system interfaces, software, propulsion, and communications.
“This test flight will enable us to prove we can carry out highly choreographed operations with our commercial partners across hardware interfaces, software, propulsion systems, and life support elements with crew in the high stakes space environment,” said Jeremy Parsons, NASA’s Moon to Mars program manager.
The mission follows Artemis II, which successfully carried four astronauts around the moon and back in April. Artemis IV, planned for 2028, would mark the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Industry Partnerships
Blue Origin is developing a crewed version of its Blue Moon lander, while SpaceX is working on a crewed lunar version of its Starship vehicle. Both companies are building test articles for the Artemis III mission.
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket experienced an explosion during a launchpad test last month, damaging the company’s primary launch facility. The incident has grounded the rocket for at least several months, though Blue Origin stated it continues ground testing of the Blue Moon lander in Houston and Florida.