The Artemis III crew will fly to low Earth orbit to test docking systems tied to future lunar landers being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
NASA has named the four astronauts who will fly on Artemis III, a 2027 mission designed to advance U.S. plans to return astronauts to the moon.
Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas were selected for the mission, NASA announced Tuesday. Astronaut Bob Hines was named as a backup crew member.
The Artemis III mission will not land on the moon. Instead, the crew will travel to low Earth orbit, where NASA plans to conduct tests considered necessary for the next stage of the Artemis program.
According to NASA, the mission will demonstrate “rendezvous and docking capabilities with test versions from one, or both, American commercial human landing systems in development by Blue Origin and SpaceX.”
Those systems are tied to future lunar landing plans. NASA said the testing will help prepare for Artemis IV, which is scheduled to become the first crewed mission to the lunar south pole in 2028.
The Artemis III crew will launch aboard NASA’s Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket will carry the Orion spacecraft and the four-person crew into low Earth orbit for the planned tests.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the crew announcement marks continued progress toward returning astronauts to the lunar surface.
“Today we take another bold step in humanity’s return to the Moon, building on the extraordinary foundation laid by the Artemis II astronauts,” Isaacman said in a statement.
The Artemis program is intended to build a sustained U.S. presence around and on the moon while developing systems that could support later deep-space missions.
NASA’s selection of Bresnik, Parmitano, Rubio and Douglas places the crew at the center of the agency’s next major test campaign before the planned crewed mission to the lunar south pole.
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