BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — NASA introduced the four astronauts who will fly Artemis III, a mission agency leaders describe as one of the most complex human spaceflight tests ever attempted.
The crew includes NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Andre Douglas, and Frank Rubio, along with European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, the first ESA astronaut assigned to an Artemis mission. NASA astronaut Bob Hines will serve as the backup crew member.
Artemis III is targeted for 2027 and will send the Orion spacecraft into low-Earth orbit, where astronauts will test docking operations with commercial lunar landers being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX.
The mission comes as work accelerates across the Space Coast. NASA says stacking of the Space Launch System rocket is scheduled to begin this summer at the Kennedy Space Center, while commercial partners continue development of the spacecraft needed for the mission.
Despite a recent setback at Launch Complex 36, Blue Origin says production and testing of its Mark One lunar lander remain on track.
“Mark One serial number one testing will conclude soon and will be ready for launch this year,” Blue Origin’s John Couluris said during Tuesday’s briefing at the Johnson Space Center.
SpaceX says it is also continuing development of Starship and plans a critical in-space propellant transfer demonstration later this year.
NASA expects the roughly two-week Artemis III mission to pave the way for Artemis IV, the mission currently planned to return astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028.
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