KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA announced the four main crew members and a backup for its Artemis III mission on Tuesday, providing new details for the complex human spaceflight test flight scheduled for 2027 in Earth orbit.
The mission will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and is essential for Artemis IV, the first planned crewed mission to the lunar South Pole in 2028.
Artemis III will involve a series of challenging tests in Earth orbit, including demonstrating rendezvous and docking capabilities for the first time with test versions of American commercial human landing systems under development by Blue Origin and SpaceX.
The mission’s crew will launch aboard the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft to low Earth orbit, testing integrated hardware between Orion and the landers, including system interfaces, software, propulsion and communications.
The prime crew members assigned to Artemis III include NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik as commander, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano as pilot and NASA astronauts Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio as mission specialists.
NASA astronaut Bob Hines was named as a backup crew member for the mission. The crew is set to begin training immediately on Orion spacecraft systems and will also assist in the development and operations of the test versions of the Blue Origin and SpaceX landers.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman described the crew announcement as “another bold step in humanity’s return to the Moon, building on the extraordinary foundation laid by the Artemis II astronauts.”
Isaacman added that Artemis III will “demonstrate the power of American innovation and international partnership as we test complex rendezvous and docking operations and advance the technologies that will one day carry us deeper into the solar system.” He also stated the mission “will require the most awe-inspiring coordination of heavy-lift rocket launches in history, drawing on the talent and capability of teams across government and the spaceflight community.”
This mission marks the first time an ESA astronaut has been assigned to an Artemis mission, with Parmitano serving as pilot.
ESA director general Josef Aschbacher commented on Parmitano’s role, stating that his assignment “reflects the depth of European expertise in human spaceflight and draws on his extensive operational experience in high-pressure situations.”
Aschbacher also highlighted that ESA’s European Service Module will provide critical capabilities to power Orion, demonstrating Europe’s role in the Artemis program. “The news out of Houston today is a powerful recognition of ESA’s role in enabling humanity’s return to the Moon – and a key advancement in our partnership with NASA,” Aschbacher said.
NASA and its partners continue to make progress in preparing for the test flight. Engineers are scheduled to connect the Orion crew module and service module this summer and integrate the spacecraft’s docking system, which will fly for the first time.
Heat shield testing is underway, with individual blocks having undergone ultra-sonic inspections and installation onto the heat shield structure. Rocket processing for the SLS is also well underway, with technicians integrating the engine section to the core stage ahead of installing the four RS-25 engines this summer.
All solid rocket booster segments are now at NASA Kennedy Space Center and mobile launcher refurbishments are on track. Rocket stacking is scheduled to begin this summer. NASA is also continuing the design and fabrication of a spacer that will replace the upper stage on Artemis III.
Commercial partners Blue Origin and SpaceX are developing crewed lunar lander versions of their Blue Moon and Starship spacecraft, respectively. Both companies are building test articles for Artemis III, with NASA supporting their design, development, testing and evaluation by sharing agency expertise.
The Artemis III mission builds on the successful Artemis II flight, completed in April and will help NASA prepare to send the first astronauts to Mars. The mission will support an increased mission cadence, ramp up production and drive supply chain improvements for the Artemis program.
The mission plan involves Blue Origin’s lander pathfinder launching first and awaiting the crew in orbit. NASA will then send the astronauts aboard Orion by SLS to Earth orbit, where they will rendezvous with the company’s lander test article and spend approximately two days docked together for tests and technology demonstrations, including entering the lander.
After completing docked operations with Blue Origin, Orion will detach and await Starship. SpaceX’s Starship pathfinder will launch to meet Orion, connecting for about one day of checkouts and testing. Following these operations, Orion and its crew will undock and return home, splashing down safely in the Pacific Ocean for recovery by a team from the U.S. Navy and NASA.
The crew is expected to remain in space for about two weeks, though the exact mission length will be determined in real time based on launch, rendezvous and docked operations.
Artemis III will be the third mission to space for Bresnik, who previously flew on space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-129 mission in 2009 and Soyuz MS-05, serving as commander of Expedition 53 on the space station.
Parmitano’s assignment also marks his third spaceflight. Selected by ESA in 2009, he previously served as a flight engineer on a Soyuz mission in 2013 and commanded Expedition 61 aboard the space station in 2019, becoming the first Italian to do so.
Rubio is making his second trip to space, having launched on Soyuz MS-22 and returning on Sept. 27, 2023. Rubio holds the record for the longest single-duration spaceflight by an American astronaut, with 371 days in orbit.
The mission will be Douglas’ first spaceflight. Douglas, selected by NASA in the 2021 astronaut candidate class, previously served as a backup and closeout crew member for the agency’s Artemis II mission.
Backup crew member Hines previously served as pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-four mission to the International Space Station. Hines is a colonel in the U.S. Air Force with more than 27 years of service as an instructor pilot, fighter pilot and test pilot.
Artemis IV, the first planned crewed mission to the lunar South Pole, is scheduled for 2028. Engineers will connect the Orion crew module and service module this summer and rocket stacking is also scheduled to begin this summer.
The exact mission length for Artemis III will be determined in real time based on launch, rendezvous and docked operations.
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