NASA has unveiled the crew for Artemis III, a low-Earth orbit mission that will see four astronauts test crucial operations for an eventual moon landing.
Three American astronauts and one Italian astronaut were announced on stage at today’s event at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
“You carry the fire of exploration from generations past, the confidence of this agency and the support of this nation,” said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman.
Beyond the crew, NASA’s private partners on this mission — SpaceX and Blue Origin — gave updates about their roles in the program, with the latter addressing a serious setback less than two weeks ago.
Who are they?
Four men were selected to be part of Artemis III, led by commander Randy Bresnik, a retired Marine Corps officer. He took his moment on stage to talk about the collaborative effort for this mission.
“We’d also like to thank…every single person in NASA, ESA, our industry partners, our international partners whose blood, sweat and tears….” Bresnik said, before smiling to add, “OK, hopefully not blood, and very few tears.”
Andre Douglas, a systems engineer and one of the backup astronauts for the Artemis II mission, was named as one of the mission specialists. This will be Douglas’s first spaceflight, not unlike Canada’s Jeremy Hansen.
“My brain, it is going a mile a minute right now,” Douglas said on stage. “But my heart, my heart, it is so warm. It is so full.” Before anything else, Douglas charmed the crowd in thanking his mother, father, wife and children.
Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano, who will be part of the Artemis III crew, said he is grateful for the chance to be part of the mission, saying his country served as the ‘launchpad’ that got him to this point, but stressing that his family is ‘the energy that feeds my soul, and your love is the spark that unites every passion.’
The only non-American on this mission is European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, commander of the ISS on Expedition 61 in 2019/2020.
In a short but emotional speech, Parmitano said he’s humbled and grateful to be chosen as pilot for this mission.
“To me, my launchpad is my country,” Parmitano said, thanking Italy and the European Space Agency for helping him achieve his successes. He also took the opportunity to praise his family.
“You are the energy that feeds my soul. And your love is the spark that ignites every passion,” Parmitano said, holding back tears.
Joining them, also as mission specialist, is U.S. Army Blackhawk pilot and doctor Frank Rubio. Far from his first mission in space, he currently holds the record for “the longest single duration spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut, with a mission duration of 371 days,” according to NASA.
The backup crew member, who will join the team if necessary, is Bob Hines, who flew to the International Space Station on NASA SpaceX’s Crew-4 mission in 2022.
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded during an engine-firing test at its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday night. The heavy-lift rocket is part of Blue Origin’s plan to test docking with a lunar lander in low-Earth orbit on the Artemis 3 mission.
Partner reassurances
The announcement of the four astronauts comes after the explosion of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on May 28 in Cape Canaveral. This is the same rocket type designed to launch the lunar lander for the Artemis III mission that the Jeff Bezos-owned company is contracted by NASA to build.
The explosion is seen as a potential setback and raises questions over Blue Origin’s role in the rapid-paced Artemis mission. However, John Couluris, Blue Origin’s senior vice-president of lunar permanence, was at today’s announcement and spoke of the support NASA is putting behind them.
“The response from NASA to our partners and customers has been extraordinary,” Couluris explained, adding that progress continues on the investigation and pad cleanup.
“We expect to complete the vehicle for Artemis III and be ready for launch in 2027.”
Not going to the moon
Three crewmembers from Artemis II sat in the crowd in Houston today, having returned from orbiting the moon just two months ago.
Their colleagues that were announced today won’t be going that far, as Artemis III will stay in low-Earth orbit.
“This test flight will enable us to prove we can carry out highly choreographed operations with our partner … with crew in the high-stakes space environment,” said Jeremy Parsons, Artemis program manager, at today’s announcement.
Parsons says the team will conduct operations that can only be done in space, including docking, crossing their hatch to the lander, operating the lander itself and testing critical life support systems.
Testing for Artemis III is well underway, with a timeline that hopes to physically assemble the Space Launch System rocket that will take the astronauts up later this summer. It hopes to do a wet dress rehearsal — where the rocket is loaded up with propellants in a faux launch sequence — by the end of the year.
