NASA has announced the crew for the next step in the return to the moon.
The space agency said NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik will be the commander, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano will serve as pilot, and NASA astronauts Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio will be mission specialists.
Bob Hines, also from NASA, was named backup crew member.
All five will start training immediately on the Orion spacecraft and will also help with the development and operations of the test versions of the Blue Origin and SpaceX landers.
“Today we take another bold step in humanity’s return to the Moon, building on the extraordinary foundation laid by the Artemis II astronauts,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a news release.
The Artemis III mission will undergo tests while still in Earth’s orbit next year and is the next step before the Artemis IV mission to the lunar South Pole, currently set for 2028.
The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to a low Earth Orbit. It will then show how it rendezvous with and docks with one or both of the commercial human landing systems currently being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX, NASA said.
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