NASA announces Artemis III crew

The Artemis III crew poses for an official portrait (from left: Andre Douglas, Luca Parmitano, Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio). Credit: NASA/Bill Stafford

On Tuesday, NASA provided new Artemis III details and announced the four prime crew members and a backup for the test flight.

The mission will undergo a series of tests in Earth orbit in 2027, essential for Artemis IV, the first planned crewed mission to the lunar South Pole in 2028.

During Artemis III, the agency’s Space Launch System rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft and its crew from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to low Earth orbit. After Orion systems checkouts, the spacecraft will, for the first time, demonstrate rendezvous and docking capabilities with test versions from one or both American commercial human landing systems in development by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

The crew consists of three Americans: commander astronaut Randy Bresnik, mission specialist astronaut Andre Douglas, and mission specialist Frank Rubio. There will also be an astronaut from the European Space Agency, pilot Luca Parmitano.

This is the first time an ESA astronaut has been assigned an Artemis mission.

NASA astronaut Bob Hines was named as a backup crew member.