NASA has announced the four astronauts who will crew the Artemis III mission, a critical test flight for the agency's return to the moon. The mission, scheduled for 2027, will not land on the lunar surface but will instead orbit Earth to test docking procedures with lunar landers developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin. The crew includes Commander Randy Bresnik, Pilot Luca Parmitano, and Mission Specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas. Bob Hines will serve as a backup crew member.
The Artemis III mission is a key step toward NASA's goal of landing astronauts on the moon by 2028. The crew will launch aboard the Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System rocket and spend over a week in low-Earth orbit conducting rendezvous and docking operations with the commercial lunar landers. This mission is designed to validate technologies and procedures required for future lunar surface missions, including life-support, communications, and propulsion systems.
The announcement comes after the successful Artemis II mission, which completed a lunar flyby in April. Artemis III will test the Orion spacecraft's rendezvous and docking capabilities, similar to the Apollo 9 mission in 1969. The mission is expected to include docking with one or both commercial landers, in-space testing of the docked vehicles, and evaluations of NASA's new Exploration Extravehicular Activity (xEVA) spacesuits.
NASA officials have emphasized the complexity of the mission, which involves highly coordinated multi-launch campaigns. The agency has stated that Artemis III is deliberately designed to take calculated risks to ensure the safety and success of future lunar landings. The mission will also test the ability to refuel the SpaceX Starship in Earth orbit, a critical step for the heavy rocket to reach the moon.
The Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the moon's surface for the first time since the 1970s. Artemis III is the final mission planned before the crewed lunar landing on Artemis IV in 2028. The program has faced delays and setbacks, including a recent explosion during a Blue Origin engine-firing test. Despite these challenges, NASA remains confident in the readiness of the lunar landers for the upcoming mission.