The Artemis III crew finally has names and faces. In a news release on Tuesday, NASA announced the four astronauts for the 2027 flight. The agency calls it one of the most complex human spaceflight missions in recent history.
NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik will command the flight. ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano takes the pilot seat. Meanwhile, NASA’s Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio fly as mission specialists. Additionally, NASA named astronaut Bob Hines as the backup.
Two of the Artemis III crew picks stand out. Parmitano becomes the first ESA astronaut ever assigned to an Artemis mission. For his part, Rubio holds NASA’s single-flight endurance record after 371 days in orbit.
What the Artemis III crew will actually do
Here is the surprise: Artemis III will not land on the Moon. Instead, the crew will fly a demanding test campaign in Earth orbit during 2027. That work clears the path for Artemis IV, the first planned crewed trip to the lunar South Pole in 2028.
The plan reads like orbital choreography. First, NASA’s SLS rocket launches the Orion spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center. Then, for the first time, Orion will demonstrate rendezvous and docking with test versions of the commercial lunar landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX. Along the way, the crew checks interfaces, software, propulsion, and communications.
“Today we take another bold step in humanity’s return to the Moon,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. He added that the mission “will require the most awe-inspiring coordination of heavy-lift rocket launches in history.”
Hardware is moving too
Meanwhile, the rocket itself is taking shape. Engineers plan to join Orion’s crew and service modules this summer. SLS teams will install the four RS-25 engines around the same time. Because every booster segment has now reached Kennedy, stacking also starts this summer.
The lander side keeps advancing as well. Blue Origin is building a crewed version of its Blue Moon lander, and SpaceX keeps evolving Starship. In fact, Tech My Money recently covered Starship V3’s successful test flight, the vehicle family NASA needs for the lunar surface. So the 2027 mission sits at the center of a much bigger machine, one now sprinting toward the Moon.
