NASA has named its crew that will be part of the Artemis III mission and undertake a series of challenges with the Orion spacecraft and the Blue Origin lunar lander.
The space agency is targeting a launch sometime next year.
NASA Unveils Artemis III Moon Mission Crew
NASA shared a new press release two months after their rousing success with the Artemis II, which details their plans for the Artemis III moon mission. NASA named the crew that will take on the Artemis III mission, centering on a four-person roster of different backgrounds.
According to the latest announcement, NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik will take on the role of commander. European Space Agency's Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano has been named the pilot, and NASA astronauts Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio are mission specialists. NASA astronaut Bob Hines was also named as a backup crew member.
The crew will begin training immediately on Orion spacecraft systems and assist in the development of test versions of both the Blue Origin and SpaceX landers.
The announcement also marks the first time a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut has been assigned to an Artemis mission. ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said Parmitano's assignment as pilot reflects the depth of European expertise in human spaceflight and draws on his extensive operational experience in high-pressure situations.
"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.
"Their achievements reignited global excitement for exploration, and now they pass the torch to the Artemis III team," he added.
NASA Artemis III's Critical Orion Testing
After Orion systems checkouts in orbit, the spacecraft will demonstrate rendezvous and docking capabilities with test versions of both American commercial human landing systems developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX for the first time.
The mission includes a multi-launch campaign, testing integrated hardware between Orion and the landers, including system interfaces, software, propulsion, and communications.
The operational sequence calls for Blue Origin's lander pathfinder to launch first and wait in orbit. Orion will then launch aboard SLS, rendezvous with the Blue Origin test article, and spend approximately two days docked for tests.
After completing that phase, Orion will detach and await SpaceX's Starship pathfinder for an additional day of docked checkouts before the crew returns to Earth. It is estimated that the mission will run for about one to two weeks, but that is yet to be determined by NASA in future updates.
Artemis III: Blue Origin, SpaceX Lunar Lander
Blue Origin's participation in Artemis III now carries an added layer of uncertainty following a major incident at its Florida launch site.
On May 28, Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded during a static fire test at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, destroying the vehicle and severely damaging the launchpad. The explosion occurred as engineers were counting down to a brief test firing of the rocket's seven BE-4 first-stage engines ahead of a planned launch to deploy Amazon satellites.
Blue Origin only operates one New Glenn launchpad, making the damage particularly consequential, but its CEO previously said that they will be back with their rocket launch tests toward the end of the year.
If SpaceX cannot get Starship ready in time either, NASA may ultimately need to delay Artemis III until 2028.
