NASA names Artemis III astronauts

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has named four astronauts who will participate in the Artemis III mission, planned for 2027. The astronauts will conduct a series of tests in low-Earth orbit that will prepare the ground for Artemis IV, the first planned manned mission to the south pole of the Moon in 2028.

NASA published the team list on its website:

• Commander Randy Bresnik is a fighter pilot and US Marine, for whom this will be his third space mission;
• pilot, astronaut of the European Space Agency, Italian Luca Parmitano — the first European astronaut in the lunar program, a test pilot for whom this will be the third flight;
• Mission Specialist Andre Douglas, a four-time masterʼs degree holder and a doctorate in systems engineering, served in the Coast Guard in search and rescue and counternarcotics operations.
• While at the university, he designed autonomous vehicles, space exploration systems, and underwater combat platforms. This will be Douglasʼ first space flight; he previously served as a backup crew member on the Artemis II mission;
• Mission Specialist Frank Rubio is a medical doctor who served in the US. Army for over 28 years, first as a pilot and physician, and then as an astronaut. This is his second flight; in 2023, Rubio broke the record for the longest continuous stay in orbit by an American astronaut — 371 days.

Astronaut Bob Hynes has been assigned as a reserve crew member. He is a US Air Force colonel with 27 years of service as an instructor pilot, fighter pilot, and test pilot. Hynes will train with the other astronauts in case one of them is unable to participate in the mission.

During the Artemis III flight, the Space Launch System (SLS) will launch the Orion spacecraft and its crew from NASAʼs Kennedy Space Center in Florida into low Earth orbit.

After systems validation, the spacecraft will demonstrate for the first time the ability to rendezvous and dock with test versions of one or both of the US commercial human landing systems being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

Previous Artemis mission

On the night of April 2, NASA launched a manned mission to the Moon, Artemis II. Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket in the agencyʼs history. The missionʼs goal is to test the rocket and spacecraft systems in preparation for a new lunar landing.

On April 3, NASAʼs Artemis II mission began its journey to the Moon. This marks the first time humans have left Earthʼs orbit since 1972. On April 6, the astronauts entered the Moonʼs gravitational field and later set a historic record by traveling 406 764 km (252 752 miles) from Earth. This is the farthest humans have ever traveled from the planet.

On April 11, the astronauts successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

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