NASA names Artemis III crew for 2027 Orion lander test mission

NASA has named the four astronauts who will fly on Artemis III, a 2027 mission that will test key systems needed for later crewed Moon landings.

The crew includes NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik as commander, European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano as pilot, and NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas as mission specialists.

The mission will launch on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket aboard the Orion spacecraft.

NASA originally planned Artemis III as the first crewed lunar landing of the Artemis program. The agency has since shifted the mission to a low-Earth-orbit demonstration focused on Orion and commercial lunar lander operations.

The mission will test rendezvous and docking procedures involving Orion and landers developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin. Those operations are intended to reduce risk before future Artemis missions attempt crew transfers to landers bound for the lunar surface.

Bresnik is a retired US Marine Corps colonel and veteran NASA astronaut who flew on space shuttle mission STS-129 and later served aboard the International Space Station.

Parmitano, an Italian astronaut with ESA, has flown two long-duration missions to the International Space Station and previously served as an ISS commander.

Rubio holds NASA’s record for the longest single spaceflight by a US astronaut after spending 371 days in orbit during an extended mission aboard the ISS.

Douglas joined NASA’s astronaut corps in 2021 and previously served as the backup crew member for Artemis II. Artemis III will mark his first spaceflight.

NASA also named astronaut Bob Hines as the backup crew member for Artemis III.

The mission remains part of NASA’s broader Artemis campaign to return astronauts to the Moon and establish a long-term presence near the lunar south pole.

NASA has selected SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander for future Artemis landing missions. Both systems must demonstrate they can operate safely with Orion before astronauts use them to reach the lunar surface.

NASA is targeting the launch of Artemis IV in early 2028 as the first crewed Artemis lunar landing.The post NASA names Artemis III crew for 2027 Orion lander test mission appeared first on AeroTime.

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